Sent from A.J. Brown
Approx. 21 Feb 1956
Description:

'EC.1601/5/1

...

According to Dr. Petter and the B.O.A.C. representatives at the meeting on the 16th February, the arrangement for the shipment of monkeys from Delhi to the United Kingdom are working smoothly. We must hope that no obstacle will come in the way of the continuing smooth flow of monkeys to this country. The supply of monkeys is of great importance to the medical world in the United Kingdom, particularly now that monkeys are required for the preparation of poliomyelitis vaccine. It is not only at the Indian end that we may fear the obstruction of ignorance and prejudice. You will see from my note of the meeting of the 16th February that the R.S.P.C.A. in this country are proving somewhat troublesome. The R.S.P.C.A. have their contacts in India, but it appears that Dr. Petter's visit to India may have spiked the guns of the more extreme anti-vivisectionists. His discussion with Indian officials and with the Indian Committee on the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals seem to have been most valuable. He says that he had to combat not so much prejudice as ignorance.

You will see that in the last paragraph of my note on the meeting I have recorded some of the views of Dr. Petter on the possibility of killing the monkeys in India. He feels that the prejudice against killing monkeys is only superficial, but I rather doubt this. Dr. Petter was of course dealing with educated people, but I should imagine that the masses could still be worked up on the issue of the killing of monkeys for medical purposes. We must hope that the trade in live monkeys will in future be conducted in such a manner that it does not come to wide public notice. Above all we must hope that incidents such as the suffocation of 394 monkeys at London Airport on New Year's Day 1955 will be avoided.''