We see from a new post on the SPEAK website that the monkey named Felix who they were campaigning to save from Oxford University has now died. SPEAK claimed that Felix was been tortured and that he lived in a small cage, although in fact this primate appeared on a BBC documentary allowing people to make their own judgements about how the animal was looked after.

But we should not shy away from the reality of research. Almost all animals are humanely killed after research, usually to study their tissues to gain further information. Animals are not simply research tools, they are sentient beings. It is regrettable that any animal has to be used, and then die, in research. But it would be even more regrettable if research to advance knowledge and potentially help treat or cure people with distressing and disabling diseases such as Parkinson’s or stroke could not go ahead. And we should not strive to keep animals alive for no good reason if it simply makes them suffer.

In true SPEAK style, their initial pronouncements on Felix sounded sinister; as in their message to Oxford University ‘if for any reason you feel it’s in your best interest to kill Felix before you had intended to, then think again. Or if Felix mysteriously dies, then we urge you to think very seriously about this course of action. The British public will take a very dim view on this course of action, should you choose to take it, and at SPEAK we will never forget such conduct’.

But presumably unable to carry through any threat, SPEAK has now decided apparently that Felix is just a symbol.