Sir

The article “Row over fate of endangered monkeys” (Nature 408, 280; 2000) indicated that Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) are listed as an “endangered” animal species.

This information is now out of date. The latest World Conservation Union list, released in October this year, indicates that there are not enough data to qualify the species as endangered. The great majority of Japanese monkeys are not currently listed in any of the World Conservation Union's Red Lists.

In fact, the Japanese monkeys regularly come into conflict with humans — for example, they are agricultural pests to many farmers. As a result, the Environment Agency has granted local governments permission to 'remove' some monkeys. The number of monkeys removed each year is estimated to be 5,000 or more.

Neuroscientists in Japan have obtained only a small fraction of these 'removed' monkeys (about 150 per year); the monkeys would otherwise have been killed. We have never asked for monkeys to be removed solely for research purposes.

The use of animals in research has vastly increased our knowledge of human brain function and malfunction. We emphasize that various lines of experimentation using monkeys, including Japanese monkeys, have played and continue to play a critical role in developing our understanding of the brain.