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Date: 11/1/2022
AMHERST – Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley sent a letter to University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy on Oct. 18 demanding an end to the "harmful experiments" being conducted on marmoset primates at the university. The actress was notified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that UMass Amherst researchers were naming their marmoset subjects after Star Wars characters, including Ridley’s character Rey, and “immediately” agreed to join PETA’s campaign to end the experiments. A spokesperson for UMass, however, has indicated "Animals are used in research when no better options exist."
In her letter, Ridley wrote, “I obviously have a deep connection with this franchise, and it breaks my heart to hear that the names of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and several other beloved characters are now associated with such cruelty.”
Amy Meyers, PETA’s Manager of Primate Experimentation Campaigns, has been active in the campaign to end these experiments prior to Ridley’s letter. She named Dr. Agnes Lacreuse as the primary researcher behind the experiments, the one who is designing the research and applying for the grants which fund it, as well as the main one executing it. Meyers stated that “all of the tests she’s [Lacreuse] doing are lethal. These monkeys never leave that laboratory alive.”
The experiments are designated as menopause research; however, marmosets do not experience menopause naturally. According to Meyers, Lacreuse and her team surgically remove female marmosets’ ovaries, and place hot hand warmers all over their bodies to mimic hot flashes such as those a menopausal human woman would experience.
In another experiment, Meyers alleged, the monkeys are blasted with loud noises every 15 minutes to simulate menopausal sleep disturbance. The marmosets are given drugs to affect their hormones. Some are put in solitary confinement chambers and given cognitive tests. Male monkeys are also subject to these experiments as a “control group.”
An official press release from PETA describes some of the suffering.
“Anakin is one marmoset who never knew freedom, even while his namesake character zoomed around a galaxy far, far away. Experimenters confined Anakin to a tiny cage alone for months; kept him thirsty in tests; bolted him to the bed of a noisy, terrifying MRI machine; and eventually killed him. Video obtained by PETA shows another marmoset, Leia, screaming in distress at UMass—yet no one helps her. Ridley urges Subbaswamy to embrace innovative, animal-free research and to give the marmosets a new hope by releasing them to a sanctuary.”
Meyers said that most of the monkeys (including Rey) can be traced back to a marmoset breeding facility in South Africa. The facility is owned by Florida-based Primate Products Incorporated (PPI), who shipped these monkeys to Florida, where they were then driven up to Amherst. Meyers spoke critically of PPI.
“PPI is a notorious company with a long track record of abuse…The transport process alone is traumatic for these animals and marmosets in particular really suffer when held captive, even more than other primate species. They develop Marmoset Wasting Syndrome, which causes severe weight loss and bone disease.”
Ed Blaguszewski, a UMass Amherst campus spokesperson, spoke of the necessity of animal testing in modern medicine.
“Medical research has saved and improved the lives of millions of people and animals. Today’s medicines and surgical techniques would not have been discovered without a more comprehensive understanding of disease and the way the body works … Animal research has contributed to many of the medical advances we now know today, including vaccines, antibiotics, anesthesia and medicines used to treat serious conditions ... Many key questions in science can only be addressed by studies on animals.”
In the second part of his statement Blaguszewski said animals are used in research when there are no better options.
“UMass Amherst conducts research using animals to examine a wide range of health concerns. Animals are used in research when no better options exist In another experiment, the monkeys are blasted with loud noises every 15 minutes to simulate menopausal sleep disturbance. The marmosets are given drugs to affect their hormones. Some are put in solitary confinement chambers and given cognitive tests. Male monkeys are also subject to these experiments as a “control group.” … UMass Amherst has a commitment to care for laboratory animals that involves the highest ethical standards and rigorous attention and adherence to all applicable federal and state laws and guidelines.”
Meyers claims that UMass has not been cooperative or even present for dialogue regarding the experiments.
“Before the campaign was public, we set up a meeting with UMass, then they went quiet. They have not been engaging with us at all. We have a great team of scientists at PETA who have constantly been trying to reach out and have conversations with leaders at UMass, but they don’t return our emails. To our knowledge, Daisy Ridley has not received a response from them yet.”
When asked about PETA’s goal for their campaign, Meyers said that the “We are calling on UMass to end the experiments, stop buying more monkeys and release the ones they have to accredited sanctuaries.”
For those interested in getting involved with PETA’s campaign, Meyers urges them to log on to PETA.org/Amherst to join the “more than 100,000 people who have already taken action.” She was particularly calling on UMass students, alumni, donors, as well as Amherst residents in general to get involved.
“Local residents and alumni have a lot of power here and need to be raising their voices about the way their money is spent and the cruelty happening on campus,” she added.