Rescued Macaque Monkeys Faring Well
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

From Primarily Primates
October 2010

After their arrival, the macaques slowly started acting like macaques. They began to groom and interact with one another; they established roles within their new groups. They came to life in their activities—maybe for the first time ever.

In mid-July, a group of 25 Java Macaques arrived at Primarily Primates after their release from a New Jersey toxicology lab that went out of business. There were 55 macaque monkeys. All had been used in experiments. Sanctuaries were found for all of them. Twenty-five came to Primarily Primates.

The macaques arrived wearing blue restraint collars that made it easier for the vivisectors to control them. The hard plastic collars were removed as soon as they arrived, and Dr. Valerie Kirk, our on-site veterinarian, assessed the monkeys’ health.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to find out what goes on behind closed doors at labs that use animals in experiments, yet we know these primates were forced-fed chemicals to see how their bodies would react—a process called gavage (literally “forced feeding”).

While the long-term health of these animals is yet unknown, their individual and collective transition to Primarily Primates has been astounding. Imagine: these monkeys have lived their entire lives (four to six years) in miniscule lab cages, in solitary confinement. The only interaction they received from anyone involved a lab worker. Now, they are living in spacious enclosures, with other macaques.

After their arrival, the macaques slowly started acting like macaques. They began to groom and interact with one another; they established roles within their new groups. They came to life in their activities—maybe for the first time ever.

It’s moving to witness their personalities emerge and relationships form; like us, they form friendships with one another, incite play, get frustrated, or are moved to help and guide each other.

Through Twitter, people have learned about the rescue, and decided to help sponsor them by sending $10 a month for their care. We are so grateful for this help, and because we expect them to live for decades, their care is long term and quite expensive. Our youngest macaque sponsor, a promising young advocate named Angus, is not yet a year old—what a great example!


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