Farmer François Theron hates baboons. Some 1 ,000 of the big monkeys live on his sheep farm in South Africa’s Cape province. Says he: “They’ll rip off a sheep’s leg for breakfast and leave the animal to die.”
But medical service has come to the aid of Farmer Theron. The faculty at the University of the Witwatersrand has agreed to pay a pound apiece for all live baboons.
Says Professor C. J. Van der Horst: “The baboon is functionally so closely related to man that scientists in other parts of the world would regard it as a great forward step . . . if they could experiment on baboons instead of . . . cats, dogs, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits.” Science has already given the monkeys stomach ulcers, will soon use them for work on diseases of women and malnutrition.
Delighted South African farmers are now supplying this medical market with scores of baboons. Farmer Theron so far has shipped 203.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
Contact us at letters@time.com
