I find it an outrage that the country that worships the Hanuman is even considering exporting monkeys ('Year of the monkeys', #180) for medical research in the west. It is probably the best indication about how far we will go to sell our souls for money and profit. Greed has got the better of our society, it has replaced our traditional spirituality, compassion and respect for fellow living beings. If your reporter's investigation is right, then a whole food chain of officials, academics and overseas laboratories will profit from the export of Nepali monkeys to America. The man behind this plan, Mukesh Chalise, is quoted in your paper as saying "Common species should be used for human welfare. There is no harm in exporting monkeys." That king of reasoning is precisely why this trade is so morally unconscionable. That we allow a fellow primate, one reverred by our culture, to be tortured and used as a guinea pig in medical experiments that will end in a slow and painful death is terrifying.

Mina KC,
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