The University of Louisiana at New Iberia Primate Research Story

[CajunKahouna]

I feel the need to repeat the response I posted in the other NIRC thread:

[I know this much. If I'm Doc T-Joe, as soon as the USDA's investigation is over, WHEN the NIRC is cleared of any wrong-doing, I would immediately have a legal team persuing a lawsuit against the producer of that video and the LAZY BASTARDS at ABC for running that video without bothering to do any investigation of their own into its veracity!!! ]

The thing that irks the crap out of me about this whole issue is the absolute LAZINESS of ABC to simply take the video at face value and stick their collective noses up the HSUS's @$$ with no regard to finding the TRUTH, which is supposed to be their F#ING JOB!!!

After watching ABC in action during the presidential campaign, you would expect something different?

[Just1More]

_ I've heard that Savoie is considering just that. If there are grounds for a lawsuit here, UL may very well pursue them.

Remember, the Humane Society's ultimate goal is to shut down the NIRC, and all facilities like it; that isn't just a loss for UL, it is an enormous loss for human healthcare.

For those of you who agreed with the article, please use the links at the bottom of it to contact Congressmen & Senators. Once lawmakers see how orchestrated and one-sided all of this all was, it could backfire on the Humane Society. _

You would think that this has been a contraversial situation from the git-go and we and the Feds would already have all the armor to do battle. The Humane Society may have "created" this latest situation, but our problems will land on federal shoulders to solve. We are either in compliance and granted continued operations or we are not. Lawsuits against anyone at the Humane Society aren't going to reverse this successful attempt at public "unawareness" - illegally fabricated or not. Those kind of battles go deeper public and that is where things go stupid. This needs to go scientific, not public. You can never explain enough to the masses to bring them in the know on these subjects... and the Humane Society knows it. They eagerly await UL's public rebuttal... and they should get none. As soon as another Anna Nicole Smith hits the airwaves (and it will), the NIRC is yesterday's news... and the Humane Society knows that as well.

[4LSU]

_ I prefer dogs. I work with human primates and they are not very impressive. _

I like dogs as well. In fact, I have one laying at my feet as I type, but try as I might I can't get him to unscrew a bottle of water and give me a drink.

If you are not happy where you work, why not change jobs? Humans can do that and I'm sure some other primates wish they could as well.

[Just1More]

_ I like dogs as well. In fact, I have one laying at my feet as I type, but try as I might I can't get him to unscrew a bottle of water and give me a drink.

If you are not happy where you work, why not change jobs? Humans can do that and I'm sure some other primates wish they could as well. _

I didn't say that I wasn't happy. Your dog may not unscrew a bottle of water and give you a drink... but he also won't hit you over the head for $20.

PS I'd love not to have to cage our primate friends... but if the cure for cancer is in that NIRC facility... I want that side of the equation expressed as well. I hope this subject concludes with its best possible outcome. I am far more concerned with human tragedies than I am monkeys. It sure would be nice if the Humane Society included the depth to which humans suffer mentally and socially due to diseases as much as they worry about caged monkeys.

[NOCajun]

_ You would think that this has been a contraversial situation from the git-go and we and the Feds would already have all the armor to do battle. The Humane Society may have "created" this latest situation, but our problems will land on federal shoulders to solve. We are either in compliance and granted continued operations or we are not. Lawsuits against anyone at the Humane Society aren't going to reverse this successful attempt at public "unawareness" - illegally fabricated or not. Those kind of battles go deeper public and that is where things go stupid. This needs to go scientific, not public. You can never explain enough to the masses to bring them in the know on these subjects... and the Humane Society knows it. They eagerly await UL's public rebuttal... and they should get none. As soon as another Anna Nicole Smith hits the airwaves (and it will), the NIRC is yesterday's news... and the Humane Society knows that as well. _

I agree that the University should not publish a public rebuttal. However, I DO think they should file defamation charges and make EVERY LAST WORD OF THAT PUBLIC and make it crystal clear to everyone just how egregious and damaging their actions are not only to the University but to medical science as well. $3-$500,000,000 should suffice in demonstrating to the world the magnitude of this offense.

P.S. => I would keep $10 million for the University and give the rest to the NIRC.

[Zeebart21]

_ Well... *blush*... I'm a tree-hugging nature freak.

But I'm also clear that people come before animals. And I also support prudent hunting, because the alternative-- starvation-- is worse.

I love animals. But sometimes you just have to choose between the lesser of two evils. _

Nice article, Joe.

Z

[Just1More]

_ I wrote an analysis of the Nightline story on ultoday.com. I thought it might be worth a new thread... _

I just read your analysis and it is outstanding. I saw nothing of the abuse implied by the broadcast. I could film animal rescue people, voice it over with some tender music and a "shame on us humans" message and summon thousands of calls of outrage. These primative primates are treated much better than most of our elderly in nursing homes. But, those people aren't all cute and cuddly like a new-born chimp. This kind of propaganda infuriates me.

ABC sucks for airing this in this manner. I don't think we have a high caliber of media people in the business anymore. Media pumps and pimps junk at the rate of a billion bytes a nanosecond and no one takes the time to filter for authenticity. When you haven't properly vetted a story... you should at least provide the same time for a counterpoint.

[NOCajun]

_ I just read your analysis and it is outstanding. I saw nothing of the abuse implied by the broadcast. I could film animal rescue people, voice it over with some tender music and a "shame on us humans" message and summon thousands of calls of outrage. These primative primates are treated much better than most of our elderly in nursing homes. But, those people aren't all cute and cuddly like a new-born chimp. This kind of propaganda infuriates me.

ABC sucks for airing this in this manner. I don't think we have a high caliber of media people in the business anymore. Media pumps and pimps junk at the rate of a billion bytes a nanosecond and no one takes the time to filter for authenticity. When you haven't properly vetted a story... you should at least provide the same time for a counterpoint. _

Yes, Doc Fun's analysis was spot-on.

[CajunCharlie]

_ Nice article Doc. Them damn tree hugging nature freaks who never get out of their offices or houses. _

Beau, I really mean no offense, but you have generalized, with the term "tree hugging nature freaks", a very large portion of the population who wish to green up the enviroment.

Take myself for instance. If their is something I can do through recycling, utilizing products that prove to be safe to the enviroment, utilizing means to produce needed electricity and power that lessen the strain on producing the product, and in general appreciating nature for what it is worth to mankind and the world, does that make me a tree hugging freak?

Let it be known that I am an outdoorist. Until old age infirmities lessended my hunting and fishing expeditions, I was in the fields, woods, and on the waters as often as I could do so. Let it also be known that as I aged I never harvested any wildlife or fish in excess of the limits stated in the law. I enjoyed harvesting these creatures because I enjoyed being in the outdoors, and most of all because I enjoyed the culinary delights they provided.

Let it be known that I fail to understand those that abuse hunting privileges and those that ruin the enviroment for profit. It is then that my "tree hugging" instincts come to the fore. I believe that there is a balance that can be achieved between users and those who wish to preserve nature for its beauty and importance in the enviroment. We simply have to work together to achieve this balance.

So, there are those of us who can be "tree huggers" and still see a place for all of those who enjoy nature and its benefits. Hopefully it translates into a benefit for all of mankind.

[NewsCopy]

  In January, the Daily World called for a thorough investigation of claims by Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) that raised strong questions about treatment of primates at UL Lafayette's New Iberia Research Center (NIRC). SAEN asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to investigate the claims.

On March 4, after UL and NIRC offered their rebuttals to the charges, The Advertiser endorsed claims that the center allows no abuse of the primates housed there.

The rest of the story