Despite opposition from animal rights activists, laboratory experiments must be performed on animals in order to learn more about animal cognition and raise awareness about animal cruelty, a Harvard psychology professor said last weekend.

At a lecture at the Harvard Museum of Natural History last Friday, Marc Hauser said increased experiments on primates can help the animal rights cause by showing that primates can feel and comprehend things in ways similar to humans.

Humans and chimpanzees are so similar – the genomes of the two species are 99 percent identical – that many people balk at the idea of performing scientific experiments on the animals. Animal rights groups claim that experimenting on chimpanzees is equivalent to testing very young children, but animal cognition specialists argue that the results of such experiments would advance the cause of animal welfare in general.

However, Hauser stressed that the similarities should not preclude primate experimentation, which could help the cause of animal rights activists worldwide. Animals, and primates in particular, are different enough from human beings to make the distinction between chimpanzees and young children, Hauser said at the lecture. Although certain primate traits, such as tool-making and social interaction, can follow human evolutionary patterns, Hauser said animals should be studied independently.

‘Animals possess a rich ability to think about the world,’ Hauser said, emphasizing the differences between the two species. ‘But since they have no capacity to talk about what they think, measuring their communication skills in human terms is mismatched.’

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals disagrees with Hauser’s hypothesis.

‘The only primate he is helping is himself,’ PETA research associate Peter Wood said of Hauser’s experiments.

Field research, like that conducted by well-known scientist Jane Goodall in the wild, can provide scientists with information just as valid as that collected in a laboratory, Wood argued.

‘Housing animals on the 10th floor of a building does not help animals,’ he said. ‘It perpetuates the idea that we can do with animals as we please.’

Houser used Koko – the gorilla that was taught sign language and understands several thousand English words – as an example of some of the interesting conclusions derived from laboratory study. When her kitten was taken away, Koko signed that she was sad – an indication of two things, according to Hauser. One, Koko’s emotions did correspond in some way to those of humans. However, the way the primate comprehended the emotion was most likely much different than a human, he said.

‘Although primates may memorize and understand signs, the deeper meaning, as a human would understand the same signs, is not necessarily within the animal’s grasp,’ he added.

Another chimpanzee named Ai learned number association and was able to quickly remember numbers and place them in ascending order, Hauser said. While the audience was stunned when Hauser reported the speed at which Ai performed the task, Hauser explained there was no ‘Aha!’ moment where the animals actually understood the numerical system.

‘Each number association took as long to realize as the previous ones did. These animals do not understand number association in the same way an adult, or even a three-and-a-half year old child, would,’ he said.

In 2000, a study concluded that primates are capable of thinking through certain problems.

One experiment placed bunches of bananas out for chimpanzees to see and eat. While subordinate chimps would never pursue the bananas if they knew the dominant animals had seen it, they would quickly run and claim the food if they realized the dominant chimps were unaware of a bunch of bananas.

‘The experiment proved that seeing is knowing, for these species,’ Hauser said.

Primates do possess a sense of self, Hauser said, meaning they recognize their reflection and can realize if their appearance has changed. (Whereas regular monkeys – which are not classified as primates – simply see their reflection in the mirror and become aggressive, as if they were viewing a rival.)

Questionable practices have been used to determine if primates possess empathy, Hauser said, describing an experiment that put two primates in neighboring cages. In order for one animal to be fed, it was required to push a button that would also cause the other caged primate to receive an extreme electric shock.

In these lab conditions, neither primate pushed the food button for lengths of time ranging from five to 12 days, once it realized the pain its neighbor was experiencing in response.

‘The primates did push the button for food in cases where a rabbit was in the neighboring cage,’ said Hauser. ‘This proves that these animals possess species distinction and are able to witness pain.’

Experiments like these are inherently cruel, PETA representative Wood said. He described video footage collected by PETA that shows primates in cages ‘rocking back and forth’ much like patients in mental institutions.

‘Primates have been driven insane by living in cages,’ Wood said.

But Hauser suggests scientists conduct more studies concerning emotional experiences in animals.

‘Presently, we have little to understand the subjective,’ Hauser said. ‘These discoveries will directly relate to animal welfare.’

Although links between animal cognition and animal welfare are still ambiguous, steps are being taken to increase awareness, compassion and legal rights. Animal rights lawsuits are being filed at an increasing rate nationwide. Harvard University and 25 other United States law schools have introduced law courses on animal rights. Germany recently became the first nation to guarantee animal rights in its constitution, according to an article published last month in The Los Angeles Times.