91av

IT SEEMS there was less concern, and obviously a more muted conscience, in science’s past views about letting animals meet a sticky end in the name of experimentation. We all know about dogs and monkeys being dispatched into space, usually never to return, but new frontiers were in sight in 1969. In our 15 May edition we reported that three goats – Olive, Pollux and Charlot – had spent two weeks in a pressure chamber at the University of Marseille, simulating the conditions 2500 feet (about 760 metres) underwater. They adapted well but – in a move that might raise concerns today – Olive was selected for slaughter to check if her organs had been damaged. We did not report the outcome, but Olive’s sacrifice seems somewhat unnecessary given that the lead experimenter, Professor J. Chouteau, “warned against relating the results obtained with goats directly to Man”.

For those who would prefer humans to have no dominion over animals, horse racing can also incite ire. Racehorses tend to be marginally better treated than decompressed goats, but they have still had muscle tissue samples removed. We reported in our 25 May 1994 edition that researchers at Bristol’s School of Veterinary Science in the UK had identified which muscle types in which distributions were likely to lead to a champion racehorse, and also whether it would be a sprinter or a distance runner. We chickened out of predicting a potential winner of the imminent Epsom Derby, though.

By 2006, it seemed animals were doing their own experiments. On 29 April, we told how Utah State University biologists fed lambs different substances to cure illnesses. When the lambs recovered, they were able to remember which chemical had made them better and would use it again if illness recurred. We opined that sheep could no longer be described as “stupid”. Researcher Juan Villalba told 91av that if stupid “means an inability to behave based on past experiences… sheep are not stupid at all”.