Regardless though the animals used in such skewed research will have suffered. And if one person can manage it then so can someone else and so on. The end can never justify the means in my world, it's ethically despicable IMO.

We need to be careful not to get carried away by how fantastic the findings are, whilst forgetting the needs of the subjects used to gain these findings.....

The fact that no one else seems to have noticed the condition of the Parrots seems evidence enough of this to be honest.

Good for the animals. No longer are they communicating to us and not being understood... While we get our findings from the observations of animals who are detached and stressed as they have no mutual language...with us. if we are learning from their learning and they are learning not only conditioned responses but as the programme showed, wants etc then that can be built on to improve their welfare. It's like being able to speak to someone you depend upon in the same language you understand, especially social species.

Are you saying that no reseach should be done on animals? Or is it better to have animal sanctuaries that do not understand the full needs, wants and capabilities of the animals they are trying to help, due to a lack of understanding they could have had if a few other chimps had to live in good yet confined conditions with the ability to use natural behaviors etc?

People would not benefit from medicine if no people centuries ago suffered, but I wont be refusing treatment if I need it.

If the end does not justify the means and is despicable...i must be muddled up, do you not work in a hospital or medical profession?

Sorry of I'm wrong, but thought you did.

Wow. I hope you're just being facetious and are not really that unlettered and ignorant about scientific research.

Re parrots, synchronised moulting is not rare amongst birds and of couse is generally seasonal...................

In farm animals, research into how they communicate with each other and their social set ups has led to improved housing conditions. Of course, this has been driven by commercial gain and, in my own opinion, it's only because of the increasing yields that come with putting more research into practice that has swayed farmers to make the changes.

If we can learn to communicate properly with animals there will be many applications, not least of which will be a greater empathy on our part when we suddenly decide to move into and take over their habitats. Wouldn't it be good to be able to say to a herd of elephants, hey pal, can you change your route a little as we've built some houses down there and you're putting your lives at risk if you take that path so try this one, instead of just culling the animals that have become an inconvenience to us? It would, of course, also save human lives in that a stampeding herd is likely to kill and destroy anything in its path.

Far fetched? Only if we don't keep up with the research to find better ways to live alongside the animals that cohabit this planet with us.

Programmes like the one shown are selective in what they cover as it is produced for our entertainment. Watching an ape hit buttons faster than we can is amusing and will have gained a much larger audience than showing the 'nitty gritty' research that goes on that is of mutual benefit to both animals and humans.

Fully agree with the above especially the last paragraph.

This is the reason that programmes with Cesar Milan are on TV instead of programmes with (insert relevant trainer name) as those programmes would have all the commercial appeal of underwater chess.

Its OK to use animals for research------just not OK to find out how they function and how close to us they can be in various ways. That has to be the thinking.

The two can't go together. If animals can think and feel emotions it challenges too much the way we treat them. The way we kill them and the way we disrespect them (sorry to use that word but it does say it rather well).

rune

You are free to hope Azz. I think its utter waste. Medical research would be and is far more beneficial. A cure for cancer, treatment for many other illnesses and diseases etc.. not how "smart" is a chimp! Id rather approve of and support that thanks. You are free to approve of and support whatever you choose too.