Jojo “belongs” to a family who lives in that house and I shall call the head of the family, Aboy.

Aboy, as I have come to know, is a motor mechanic who works very hard to provide for his family. He is the sole breadwinner and on the best of weeks, he barely manages to make ends meet. That one of his two young daughters suffer from spinal bifida doesn’t make things any easier. And yet, it was a happy enough household.

Aboy loves animals and around the compound is a little Noah’s Ark  and you see things that would surprise you such as a goose nudging a Rottweiler aside to get to the dog’s water bowl.

Four years ago, Aboy was on his way home when he came across a group of boys throwing stones at a baby monkey who had just lost its mother. He decided to rescue the monkey and took it home. Aboy relates his story of how he used to feed baby Jojo from his daughter’s milk bottle.

And here is the bitter-sweet. Jojo being rescued and looked after by a kind man who loves him and yet without the resources that he would like to have to give Jojo a better living condition. I asked Aboy what he feeds Jojo and he answered softly…”dog food”.

I don’t know much about monkeys but I am used to seeing them in tress. Free. And macaque monkeys as I have learned, are both arboreal as well as terrestrial. Even as they spend quite a bit of time on land, they need space to move about in trees. Also it is in their nature to want space and strong social interaction and structure. It was not easy to look into Jojo’s eyes. Eyes that longed to be let out and participate in whatever was going on.

Jojo understands tenderness

 

Aboy reaches his hand into the cage and touched Jojo on the face, and there for quite a few minutes I witnessed a real connection between two sentient beings.

Over the next few weeks I visited them often, bringing fruits and nuts for Jojo. Each time, I would blow mantra ON AH RA BHA TSA NA DHI and OM MANE PADME HUM on Jojo to create imprints in his mind stream, as I have been taught by Tsem Rinpoche. Last week, as we sat by Jojo’s cage Aboy asked if it would be better for him to release Jojo. I told him I would love to see Jojo free although I have no idea where to release Jojo and whether the kid can be re-socialized into a macaque population.

And what about toys? Well, the only entertainment Jojo gets is a rag that hangs from the top of his cage which he uses as a swing, and then there is the occasional “swim” in a small pail of water.

Anyone in there?

And in he goes…

Jojo dives in head first and comes out almost immediately spluttering and spitting. Like all kids with water.

Aboy laughs at Jojo’s antics and wishes he could do more. It was not a pretty environment. And apparently, monkeys sense the environment the very same way we do.

The thought of Jojo in the small cage plagued me for days. I called around and nobody seemed to know how to go about releasing a monkey. But all agreed, that it would be difficult for Jojo, now a young adult male to be accepted into a monkey population in captivity. Monkeys are territorial and protective and would see Jojo and an external menace. There was only one thing we can do in the meantime.

I started making some calls to friends and animal lovers. Collectively we made a decision and I called Aboy to deliver the news. We would like to build bigger living quarters for Jojo on the house compound – would Aboy mind?

Today, I was there to visit again. The contractors were there too to take measurements. Jojo’s new quarters will be 10′ by 7′ with a 8′ high roof. It was fun “designing” Jojo’s new home. Aboy’s daughter wanted a proper swing for Jojo. Aboy wanted to have a small table in there so that “the whole family can eat together”. Aboy’s wife, who just lost her clothes-drying area suggested a small pool. She loves animals too.

And Jojo? He just wanted fresh fruits now that he has worked out what they are all about.

Which he deserves.

Jojo’s situation may not be ideal but far worst horrors are experienced by countless monkeys in human laboratories. Take a look. [Source: http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/monkey.html]

(Monkey – Malish – 01)  This is Malish, one of eight monkeys who have been condemned to suffer as part of this research project at Hebrew University in Israel.

(Monkey – Malish – 02)  Anyone who could conduct such a sadistic experiment on Malish and other monkeys certainly could not be one of the children of God who the Israelites claim to be; for if a person truly loves God, he or she would also love the whole of God’s creation.  In our opinion, this photo proves that such researchers don’t really love God.

(Monkey – Malish – 03)  One would think that the Holocaust would have taught all Israelites compassion toward all other living beings, but this photo of Malish proves otherwise.  The Nazis dehumanized the Jews to excuse what they did to them.  To us, these researchers are just as evil.

(Monkey – Malish – 04)  How anyone could look into Malish’s eyes and not see his pleading for compassion is beyond our comprehension.  Thus we must conclude that these sadistic researchers are evil.

(Monkey – Malish – 05)  Even if some people might conclude that monkeys are beasts, in the Bible, Proverbs 12:10, we are taught:
“A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast,
But the compassion of the wicked is cruel.”    (NAS)
Thus, from the photos of Malish, we can only conclude that the researchers at Hebrew University are wicked.

(Monkey – Malish – 06)  Until we human beings learn to have love and compassion for all of God’s other living souls (Hebrew: neh-fesh khah-yawh), we will never have peace among our fellow human beings.  These experimenters at Hebrew University in Israel are making war on Malish and his companions.  We can come to no other conclusion!

(Monkey – Malish – 07)  Even after all this torture and torment, Malish’s eyes still express gentleness.  He appears much more Godly than the humans who perform these atrocities and the members of our society who sit back with blinded eyes and indifference and do nothing to stop these things from happening.  Well, it’s in front of our eyes now, and we no longer can excuse this evil away.

Group

(Monkey – Group – 01)  This photo was taken in a holding pen for baby macaques at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center.  We can easily see that they are lovingly comforting one another, but for the whole group to be doing this is a strong indication that they are all under severe emotional stress.  Our thanks to Gary Adams for helping us properly identify this photo.

Restraint Chair

(Monkey – Chair – 01)  In order to restrain the monkey’s movements during certain types of experiments, he or she is placed in a restraint chair like this one.  This monkey has had electrodes implanted in the brain.

(Monkey – Chair – 02)  This is another kind of restraint chair that has a clamp that fits around the monkey’s neck.  There is something very haunting about the expression on this monkey’s face.  Could it be loss of hope?

(Monkey – Chair – 03)  This type of chair allows some freedom of movement, but no matter what the monkey does, he or she cannot get his or her head loose.  If this were done to us, we would consider it a form of torture; and this is exactly what researchers are doing to the monkeys.

(Monkey – Chair – 04)  This monkey is really struggling to get loose, but it is all to no avail.  The restraint device keeps her firmly in the chair so that she can be experimented upon.

(Monkey – Chair – 05)  Common sense tells us that a monkey would not want to be clamped into a chair, such as this one, any more than we would.  Thus, the researchers often deprive the monkey of food prior to being clamped into the chair.   Then they feed the monkey when he or she is in the chair, so that the monkey will associate being fed with being in the chair, and give the researchers fewer problems.

(Monkey – Chair – 06)  This is another photo of a monkey eating in one of the researcher’s restraint chairs.  It’s doubtful whether this monkey will be this “contented” once the electrode in his or her head is hooked up and the experiment begins.

(Monkey – Chair – 07)  This monkey sits in utter boredom with arms crossed on the front bar of the restraint chair.  In our opinion, to subject any living being to such conditions is a sign of human depravity.

(Monkey – Chair – 08)  This is another type of restraint chair that is used by the University of Wisconsin.  Note that in this chair the monkey is restrained at the neck and hips and is unable to touch or scratch himself or herself.  This must be real torture!

(Monkey – Chair – 09)  Note the way the ring is screwed into the monkey’s head and the pained expression on his or her face.  We believe that this type of biomedical research is nothing but legalized sadism.

(Monkey – Chair – 10)  This monkey, in a restraining device, was subjected to neurological experiments conducted by Dr. Edward Taub. Dr. Taub is the only vivisector to have been tried and sentenced for cruelty to animals. Later, on appeal he was exculpated for a legal cavil: his experiments were not subjected to animal protection regulations.

(Monkey – Chair – 11)  We believe this is a 30 to 50 year old photo from Scotland which shows an earlier version of the restraint chairs.  We are not sure why the monkeys are outside in these restraints, but they’re all hollering about something beyond camera range.

(Monkey – Chair – 12)  This monkey is forced to sit for hours in this restraint chair.  Think of how often we move when we are sitting in an uncomfortable chair and how horrible it would be if we couldn’t move even our arms, and we’ll get some idea of how much these monkeys suffer, even when not being experimented upon.  Because of all the abuse, even the compassionate hand of the undercover investigator causes terror.

(Monkey – Chair – 13)  The undercover investigator tries to comfort this monkey who has been clamped down in this restraint chair, where he or she cannot even move his or her arms.  The torture of this monkey is being done in full view of the caged monkeys, which causes them to have a lot of stress, too.  Testing on animals must end!

(Monkey – Chair – 14)  Note the way both arms of this monkey are tied down, and how his or her suffering is in full view of the other monkeys in the cages.  To do this to any living being is an abomination before God.

(Monkey – Chair – 15)  This monkey has been fastened in a restraint chair, where his or her movements are severely restricted.  If we can imagine ourselves in such a situation, we may come close to understanding the suffering this monkey is going through.

(Monkey – Chair – 16)  These monkeys are locked into these restraint chairs for many hours, while they’re experimented upon.  These devices are absolutely sadistic, as are those humans who devise and use them.

(Monkey – Chair – 17)  This is a side view of the restraint chairs that are use to keep the monkeys from moving while being experimented upon.  A real torture chamber!

(Monkey – Chair – 18)  This is another look at two of the monkeys that are locked into these torturous restraint chairs.

(Monkey – Chair – 19)  This is another look at a monkey who has been fastened into a torturous restraint chair.  People really have to be evil to do this to another living being.

(Monkey – Chair – 20)  This is a lower view of a restraint chair into which this monkey has been securely fastened.  Stop the experimenting and testing on animals!

(Monkey – Chair – 21)  For the monkeys in this laboratory, it must be like living every day of your live in a torture chamber, where restraint chairs like this one are one of the many instruments of torture.  This monkey can be seen screaming.

(Monkey – Chair – 22)  It is impossible to look at a photo like this one of a monkey fastened into a restraint for hours on end, and not realize that there is no such thing as the humane treatment of animals in laboratories.  Every animal in them suffers greatly every day of their lives.

(Monkey – Chair – 23)  Look at the pleading look on the face of this monkey to be free from this torturous restraint chair.  We can almost feel the physical torment of this monkey and the emotional torment that was inflicted upon the undercover investigator whose desire was to free the monkey, but knowing that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to expose the truth and hopefully end the suffering of all laboratory animals.

(Monkey – Chair – 24)  This torture chamber looking device is a University of Houston Primate Restraint Chair.

(Monkey – Chair – 25)  This is another look at a University of Houston Primate Restraint Chair.

(Monkey – Chair – 26)  This is another look at a University of Houston Primate Restraint Chair.

(Monkey – Chair – 27)  This is another look at a University of Houston Primate Restraint Chair.  Just think of how miserable you would feel confined to a device like this for many hours.

(Monkey – Chair – 28)  This photo of a monkey in a restraint chair was taken from a report of a laboratory experiment.

Abuse

(Monkey – Abuse – 01)  This is an undercover photo of a monkey being deliberately abused by having his or her arms bent back while being carried by a worker at a large testing laboratory.  It is evil to mistreat any living being simply because you have the power to do so.

(Monkey – Abuse – 02)  This is an undercover photo of a monkey being severely choked by a worker at a large testing laboratory.  This is just one of many abuse situations going on behind closed doors.

(Monkey – Abuse – 03)  Because these monkeys don’t want to be experimented upon, a heavily gloved technician has to restrain the monkeys by bending their arms and shoulders toward the monkey’s back.  To us, this is nothing but abuse.

May all beings everywhere
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.

May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil, or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.

May the blind see forms
And the deaf hear sounds,
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.

May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food;
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.

May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness, and prosperity.

May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests;
May all medicines be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.

May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.

May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed;
May the powerless find power,
And may people think of benefiting each other.

For as long as space remains,
For as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world.

~Shantideva