Paul McCartney Speaks Out Against NASA Animal Experiments

Keith’s note: According to a letter released by PeTA, Paul McCartney writes:
“Dear Mr. Bolden: I recently learned from my friends at PETA that NASA plans to fund an experiment in which squirrel monkeys will be exposed to dangerous doses of radiation and then caged for years to study the effects on them, which are likely to be cancer, brain tumours, and early death.
As a supporter of NASA’s mission and continued space exploration, I have had the pleasure to work with NASA on multiple occasions. In 2005, I performed for the crew of STS-114 as they flew over 200 miles above the Earth. More recently I worked with NASA to beam Beatles music into space.
I believe NASA has the ingenuity to investigate the health effects of space travel without confining and experimenting on animals as was done in the old days. It would be terribly disappointing if in our zeal to explore new frontiers and to learn about the fascinating universe where we live we began to regress in our treatment of the animals with whom we share this planet. May I appeal to you to cancel this experiment?
Sincerely, Paul McCartney”
Spaceflight Set the Stage for a Story by Sir Paul, earlier post, NASA
“A sea of thousands of concert-goers threw its hands high, clapped and cheered while many chimed in with Sir Paul McCartney. On stage, a story began to unfold. It was a story of human pursuit and success, and spaceflight was at the heart of it.”
Perhaps PeTA could get Sir Paul to write a song about this issue and then people can vote for it as a NASA Wake-up song for the last shuttle crews as part of the contest currently underway …