A transport of several hundred rhesus monkeys arrived today in Israel from India in connection with the Israel Government’s polio vaccine research program. Obtaining the monkeys was a difficult task since they are regarded in India as “holy.” The Israel Ministry of Health gave assurances that they would be used “solely for medical purposes in the service of mankind.”
Special arrangements for transport via EI AI Israel National Airlines had to be made, to prove to the satisfaction of the shippers that air transport for the monkeys could be carried out successfully. In addition, special facilities had to be set up in India and at all transit points en route. Only one of the monkeys was lost, when it died due to its inability to withstand the temperature change.
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