Created by William Lane-Petter
Apr 1950
Description:

'LABORATORY ANIMALS BUREAU.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR PERIOD DECEMBER 1949 - MARCH 1950 INCLUSIVE.

...

Monkeys.

So far it has not been definitely decided whether to resume the Gambia project. The spring catching season - about March - has been missed, but it may be possible to send Mr. Irons, or someone else, out for the autumn.

In Sierra Leone there is an annual monkey drive organised in the interests of farming, in which some 15000-20000 monkeys are driven and slaughtered. It is being provisionally arranged to take advantage of this circumstance to obtain monkeys for those laboratories requiring them. Their cost will almost certainly be less than £5 each (home) and very likely appreciably so. There is more than a possibility that numbers of chimpanzees will be available from this source.

In view of the uncertainty respecting the Gambia project no approach has been made to laboratories in order to find out their primate requirements. As soon as a firm programme has been fixed, this will be done.

Dr. Pasricha of India House has been approached about the possibility of obtaining Rhesus monkeys from the hill districts of India he considers it likely that a regular supply could be obtained, but cannot yet give any estimate of the price.'