[DoctorMichael]

........... the amount being spent on humane treatment of primates who have ACTUALLY made a contribution to the well-being of the human race seems unjustifiably small.............

I know, I know, it sounds like another gub'mint boondoggle. However, these primates have "stood in" for humans in the testing of drugs and have been injected with the kind of stuff (AIDS virus etc.) that would send shivers up the normal human's spine. We have a Vivaria where I work and its kind of depressing to see these animals sitting in a 3'x3'x4' cage 24x7 for literally years not having a say in whats going to happen to them.

Giving them a decent retirement is the LEAST we can do!

However (if it pleases some of you)...............maybe the costs should be offset by the drug companies that benefit from the service these animals supply, rather than the taxpayer.

[GovernmentShrinker]

However, many (if not most) of them are used in research which is conducted and/or sponsored by the federal government, so there's no way to stick the bill to private drug companies.