The use of non-human primates in experimentation has reached an
all-time high in the United States as of 2006 as, according to the
United States Department of Agriculture, over 62,000 rhesus monkeys,
squirrel monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees, marmosets, aotus monkeys,
vervets, and other species of primates fell under the knife. What
happens to these animals in U.S. laboratories? Are they receiving
even the basic necessities of life such as food and water? Are they
receiving adequate protection under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)?
When laboratories violate the AWA regarding the use of primates, do
they receive substantial penalties?
This report will investigate all of these issues based on
available documentation. This documentation will include inspection
reports and animal use reports from the United States Department of
Agriculture for the years 2006 & 2007. Other sources of information
will include grant applications from various parts of the National
Institutes of Health, and accounts of specific incidents from news
media.
However, it must be noted that the sources of information
available for use in this report are incomplete. Despite
improvements in efforts by the USDA in making documentation
available regarding the use of animals in laboratories, substantial
areas of incomplete disclosure exist. For example, while some level
of availability of the annual report forms for research facilities
for 2006 & 2007 exists, virtually all laboratories which use animals
in experimentation involving unrelieved pain and/or distress are
still unavailable – this includes many of the largest primate
facilities.
Additionally, for many laboratories for which the forms
are available, the attachments which disclose important
documentation regarding exceptions to standard care (i.e. severe
limitations on availability of food or water, use of multiple
survival surgical procedures on animals, inadequately sized caging,
isolation housing for primates, etc.) are not available even though
it is possible to demonstrate from other sources that such
non-standard care is in existence. Many crucial reports are
unavailable, including forms for the facilities of the National
Institutes of Health intramural facilities. Additionally, a Freedom
of Information Act request was placed with the USDA/APHIS/AC in 2006
for copies of the most recent inspection reports for all registered
research facilities in the United States. At the time of writing,
this request has not yet been fully met – leaving some substantial
holes in the data. However, a fairly complete picture of primate
experimentation can be compiled using a combination of data sources.
Go to Next Section
Return to Contents
