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Space Chimps Retire

Posted by Hemos on from the moing-on-in-life dept.

jukal writes ""With a $3.7-million grant and a court ruling, Florida's Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care last week took over a primate-testing facility in New Mexico that houses 266 lab chimps, including 16 Air Force animals descended from the first space chips.", read the rest at Discovery."

8 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Forced migration? by bgins · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This is about confinement, isolation, and deprivation (of things to do). Not a nice prospect for an up to 50 years lifespan. It is indeed very sad.

    I recall an account of how some "primitive" (African tribal) people, when imprisoned, committed suicide or died of no apparent reason. The account I read was in Marie-Louise von Franz but may well have come from Laurens van der Post (1 2). Supposedly they thought that they had lost their soul and so had nothing more to live for.

    I guess chimps are perhaps fortunate or at least different in that they don't experience a "loss of soul". I wonder whether any of them have died in captivity for no apparent medical reason: if they had, it might show a frightening similarity between chimps and humans, i.e. that chimps' "consciosness" is closer to humans than we think. Of course, I am NOT condoning this kind of cruelty!!

  2. Re:Why retire ? by Domini · · Score: 2

    Now, now...

    I'm sure chips can't spell better than Slashdot editors!

    -sigh-

  3. In other news... by Fyz · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... The Florida Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care purchased the largest amount of typewriters from an undisclosed source ever, shortly before they announced that they were indeed attempting to write the greatest book, *ever*. (sorry, it was just so obvious)

    1. Re:In other news... by !splut · · Score: 2

      Inside sources reveal that the ape sweathouse is working on a script for FOX's remake of Return to the Planet of the Apes. This is double the number of talentless, smelly simians as were used to hammer out script for the first, Tim Burton directed, PoA remake.

      --
      The angel in the oatmeal.
    2. Re:In other news... by Pathwalker · · Score: 2

      I thought that they were working on movies instead.

      After all, chimps have been writing books, and coding for a long time. They need to move on to something new...

  4. Re:Why retire ? by Conare · · Score: 2

    When asked to comment about the chips, a PETA spokesperson said, "I bet you can't eat just one!"

    --
    Stop Continental Drift! Reunite Gondwanaland!
  5. Glad they can now retire by Vuzz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm always outraged when I get to hear these types of stories about mistreated animals. I can't help thinking that if they were humans, they would have been rescued a long time ago... Just animals some would say. It does not make it less painful because they are "just animals". Whether it is toward animals or humans, cruelty remains cruelty. Period. I, for one, am very glad to know there are still people who care enough to rescue these poor chimps among which some have risk their lives so we can go headed with the space program. What was their reward? A tiny cage and some chimps chow... It's just my personal opinion and I don't expect everyone to share it. V.

  6. Someone give them a compiler... by SysKoll · · Score: 2

    Fellow Linux lovers, this is our chance.

    Yes, dear devout followers of the Penguin, now is our historical opportunity to prove, once and for all, that 200 monkeys banging on 200 keyboards can produce a better OS than Windows 2000!

    We need to send them keyboards now. What's their address?

    --

    --
    Mad science! Robots! Underwear! Cute girls! Full comic online! http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/