Monkey Business

Guillermo, lifestyles director for People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, tells how PETA cofounder Alan Pacheco shocked the nation into awareness of animal abuse in the realm of science. In 1981, seeking firsthand knowledge of live-animal experiments, Pacheco applied for a summer job at the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Springs, Md., where work funded by the National Institute of Health was being carried out. Accepted as a volunteer, he found 17 monkeys in small wire cages in the unventilated, filthy lab where he was assigned. Twelve animals were disabled by severed nerves; five were control subjects. Pacheco went to the lab at night and took photos. He brought in scientists and veterinarians to see the monkeys; then he called the state police. The case of the Silver Springs monkeys resulted in the first reduction of federal funding for government-supported research because of animal abuse; it was the first laboratory animal case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. Photos. $75,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Nov.)