Quit Monkeying Around!
On the face of it, an undercover investigative story from The Sunday Times out of England may sound a bit humorous. A bunch of African monkeys from Tanzania were packed up and shipped to Iran. (There are many references to barrels full of monkeys that could come to mind!)
A while ago, I filed a blog called Dirty Monkey Business about the huge problem that many African farmers have with monkeys. In this instance, the monkeys seemed organized against the villagers and farmers in Kenya...destroying crops, injuring people and being a horrible nuisance. For those farmers, the thought of packing up the treacherous creatures and sending them to Iran might come as a welcome relief. Good riddence!
However, in this case, the outcome is much more sinister than destroyed crops. Tails, er, rather tales of Iranian intrigue and possible bioweapons testing on Vervet monkeys are really no laughing matter. The secretive nation has made its nuclear race and bioterror ambitions very public. It would not be surprising for Iran to be buying the critters for cruel animal testing.
There are a few reasons why the Tanzanian government may not want to allow these sales to continue...
For one, these little monkeys are endangered...meaning the supply of these vervets will soon run out; not only for sale, but for the entire planet. The local people may not like them and the export may fuel the Tanzanian economy, but these are monkeys are worth preserving in some fashion even if for no other reason than just to marvel at God's creative creation.
Another reason, is the Tanzanian government probably shouldn't want its citizens to be linked with Iran in any way. When and if, God forbid, Iran comes up with some crazy bioweapon, think how guilty they would feel knowing they had helped the Iranians accomplish their goal. And how would that look in the eyes of the rest of the world?
Not a reprimand. Just something to think about.
In my mind, the link proving Tanzania's monkeys are Iran's bioweapon testing ground seems pretty thin. It will take more investigating to see if these monkeys are truly being used for this purpose.
Take a look this Sunday Time's article and let me know what you think. Send me an e-mail with your thoughts!