Animals in Labs Article from All-Creatures.org

Remembering Britches: This is World Week for Lab Animals 2024

From LCA Last Chance for Animals
April 2024

As part of a research experiment, Britches was removed from his mother at birth, had his eyelids sewn shut, and had an electronic sonar device attached to his head. The device emitted a high-pitched noise every few minutes.

This week, April 22 - 28, is World Week for Laboratory Animals. Every year, we remember Britches, the baby macaque, who was rescued from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in 1985. The rescue of Britches and the UCR raid is famous in the animal rights world and was orchestrated by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

LCA's Founder and President, Chris DeRose, was the spokesperson for ALF in the 1980's.

Britches was approximately one month old at the time of the rescue, and was born into a breeding colony at UCR. As part of a research experiment, Britches was removed from his mother at birth, had his eyelids sewn shut, and had an electronic sonar device attached to his head. The device emitted a high-pitched noise every few minutes.

After the rescue, Britches was flown to a sanctuary in Texas, where he was adopted by an elderly female macaque who had already raised several orphans. Britches lived to be 20 years old.

As a result of the publicity from the ALF raid, eight of the 17 studies interrupted by the raid were not restarted, and the University stopped allowing infant monkeys' eyes to be sewn shut, according to reports filed by the University with the government.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted an eight-month investigation into UCR's research laboratory animal care program and concluded it was an appropriate program, and that no corrective action was necessary.

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