Rewind retro video of the day... Originally from Detroit, MI (USA) and later Hull, England (UK), we submit for your approval Lene Lovich with her 1978 single Lucky Number from her debut solo album Stateless. The song was first released as the B-side to her cover of Tommy James and the Shondells I Think Were Alone Now, followed by an A-side re-release in 79. The reissue peaked at #18 in Austria and #3 in the UK. Furthermore, it became one of the defining songs of the New Wave genre. One of Lovichs passions surrounds animal rights. She wrote the lyrics to Cerrones 77 sci-fi themed hit Supernature, wherein humanity develops genetically modified creatures to end starvation, but the creatures instead rebel against mankind. As such, shes an outspoken proponent of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and has held benefit concerts for them. Founded in 80, PETA gained international attention (some may call it infamy) in 81 during what became known as the Silver Spring Monkeys Case. Behavioral neuroscientist Edward Taub, working at the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, MD, was interested in the subject of deafferentation. Afferent nerves allow us to feel sensations such as touch, pressure, vibration, limb position, heat, cold, and pain- the impulses of which are sent to the brain for interpretation. Deafferentation is a surgical procedure wherein afferent nerves are severed so these sensory impulses dont reach the brain. A subject given the procedure to an arm, for instance, will no longer feel the arm; it becomes extraneous and even foreign. Monkeys, after given the surgery, would mutilate or chew off the affected region. Taub took his research a step further though; he deafferented the entire body from the brain at birth to see if the subject would learn to use its appendages despite not being able to feel them. What he found was that the subjects learned to use their appendages despite not being able to feel them. Alex Pacheco, one of PETAs cofounders, got a job as Taubs lab assistant at The Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, MD. There were 17 macaque monkeys when he arrived, each living alone in a wire cage measuring 18 x 18 (x 18, Im assuming), with no bedding, food bowl, or environmental enrichment. Twelve had been deafferentated, while 5 others acted as the control group. One of the deafferentated monkeys had chewed off all the fingers on the affected hand and pulled the skin and flesh from his palm, exposing bone. Of the twelve monkeys, 39 fingers were deformed or missing, and Pacheco described their respective demeanors as neurotic at best. None of the injuries were properly treated. The cages were caked in feces, traces of urine rusted the cages and covered the floor, and cockroaches were everywhere. Pacheco documented his findings, and also invited veterinarians and scientists to view the lab. He then produced his evidence to the Montgomery County police, who raided the lab on 9/11/81 under Marylands Prevention of Cruelty to Animals law, but not before PETA tipped off the media (thus annoying the police). In 81, Taub was charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty, 6 of which he was convicted, and was fined a mere $3000. Taub appealed in 82, and the jury acquitted him of 5 of his earlier convictions, and Taub was fined $500. On a 2nd appeal, he was absolved of the 6th charge since Marylands Prevention of Cruelty to Animals law didnt apply to federally funded labs. In short, Taub got away scot-free. There are images of what these monkeys went through on the Internet. Look up Silver Spring Monkeys on Google. One recommendation... do this BEFORE you have dinner. Right now, I dont have an appetite. https://youtube/watch?v=KnIJOO__jVo
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 03:42:56 +0000