Monkey Puzzle

‘CAMBRIDGE University is ready to abandon plans to build a laboratory near the city in which to experiment on monkeys’ brains.

Scientists proved that monkeys will fight back if provoked

So says the Independent, which blamed spiralling costs and opposition from the city council and anti-vivisection groups for the decision.

All of which is well and good and will no doubt be warmly received in the simian world at large, but it does not explain why the Indy chooses to illustrate the story with a picture of John Prescott.

The paper says primate research has recently attracted stinging criticism from MPs and scientists who claim that experiments cannot be justified because research results in primates often do not translate to humans, especially in brain treatments.

But the Deputy Prime Minister wasn’t one of the 155 MPs who signed a parliamentary motion opposing these experiments.

So again we are moved to ask why his distinctly unapelike visage is staring out of the page at us.

We trust this is not a joke on the paper’s behalf at the very sensitive Mr Prescott’s expense about the brainpower of our primitive ancestors.’

Posted: 7th, November 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink