Spread the message for hope You Can

An interesting year 2016. Not only because there is a presidential election in the US and candidates must outline their vision of the future of biomedical research but most certainly also because support towards animal research is increasing on two critical aspects.

Firstly, researchers are doing more to talk about their research and the use of various animal models such as non human primates and why they are critical towards medical progress. As a matter of fact around 400 of them have signed a public letter to endorse the use of non human primates as critical if we are to find cures for neurodegenerative diseases and more. Do take a look at who signed and the research they are involved in. I mean this is huge for those are heavy weight researchers whose opinions are not to be taken lightly. In addition thereto over 20 organizations signed the letter on behalf of their members. They are the major league of research and if these combined can not persuade you of the necessity and value of this work then nothing can or will.
Do remember there are millions of us out there waiting for a cure or a treatment and bio medical research represents hope, a means of making medical progress for humans and animals alike.

Secondly, a direct outcome of this hard work are visible undeniable results. There is a lot of progress. I can't mention all of them there are too many but they are Tangible and impacting the lives of us all. See the image below describing research achievements with non human primates as of the year 2000. On this blog for example there have been over 46000 views and my 25K tweets about research reach a growing and interested audience. One that makes the difference between propaganda and informing the public.

Think of those affected by ebola, malaria, zika-virus or hiv , think of their loved ones enduring the decline, the pains and the void once fallen to the disease. Look at this and say these disabled people, amongst whom my beloved brother, do not deserve a better life? It is not about animals or us, it is about us and animals for we all need medical progress.

Making our world a better place through research

If you were to visit the web page of the Tulane National Primate Research Center you would see this (title) statement right at the top. A bit further down one can find the resources the center maintains and more specifically the nonhuman primates required in research. The management of the nonhuman primates is done by the veterinary medicine division. There are nine species in the center which totals to approximatively five thousand nonhuman primates to take care of.  The nonhuman primates are used in research towards finding a vaccine, cure or treatment to diseases such as for example AIDS/HIV, Leukemia or Malaria to name a few.

The above is just one example of a research center using nonhuman primates. Actually as a research model, nonhuman primates are also used in other areas of scientific research. Take a look at this page and follow the links. 

On the other hand some find macaques to be a nuisance and would rather eradicate them from their ecosystems since they are an invasive species.  Take a look at page seven of this report (attached) dated March 14-15, 2012. Here's an excerpt:

Feasibility Study for Macaque Monkey Eradication Project Successfully Complete

With funding from the CEPF, Invasive Species International conducted a feasibility study in Palau in September-October 2011, to assess the feasibility of complete removal of invasive macaque monkeys from Palau, especially the heavily infested island of Anguar. The study concluded that eradication will be possible, but that it will be difficult and expensive.

The study report estimates that it will take 3-4 years to complete the eradication, at a cost of 1.5 to 2 million dollars. Source: here.

So between those that need the resource, those that are challenged when transporting them and those that want to get rid of macaques, a balanced approach is needed. If at all feasible, why not use these macaques for research instead of the proposed eradication? In addition they could also be used for repopulating areas where the species are endemic but deemed vulnerable or endangered. Perhaps my contacts in the zoo and aquarium world are interested in helping out, who knows? That would make the world a better place through research and conservation.