@N_
re. “The abuse of non-human animals in early space programmes was met with protest demonstrations in a number of countries.”
I’ve came across a joke. Sorce is here
https://pikabu.ru/story/nemnogo_kosmicheskogo_yumora_6971375
Buzz Aldrin (the second man who set foot on the moon) joked about why Alan Shepard became the first American in space: “Actually,” he said, “they wanted to send a monkey, but a bunch of letters came to NASA in defense of animal rights, and in defense of Shepard not a single letter arrived. They sent him. ”