Sunday Is International Primate Day; Animal Defenders International Issues Plea To Help Save Primates & All Animals From Animal Testing

Animal Defenders International (ADI) established International Primate Day in 2005 to highlight the threats to the survival of primates in the wild, and the suffering of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, apes and monkeys, when used in research, entertainment, for their meat and the pet trade.

Ahead of this years International Primate Day on September 1st, ADI is calling on Congress to take a stand against the growing number of primates used in research by supporting advanced, human-relevant research methods and a phase-out of primate use.

“Given the known species differences between primates and humans, we should be moving toward more advanced, human-relevant research methods, not using greater numbers of primates in research,” ADI President Jan Creamer said in a statement sent to WAN. “If, like ADI, you think this is unacceptable, please join our call to Congress for primate tests to be phased out.”

Supporting measures to accelerate a “move away from animals toward more human-relevant research methods,” nearly one hundred academics, scientists, institutions, companies, organizations, and celebrities have signed up to the Declaration for Advanced Science.

One such supporter is Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell.

“It’s time to leave animal tests, and the needless suffering they involve, in the past, where they belong,” stated Cromwell, a longtime animal welfare advocate. “I support Animal Defenders International and a move toward methods of research that are kinder and far more relevant to humans.”

The full and current list of signatories can be viewed HERE. 

According to the latest figures in 2017, 75,825 nonhuman primates were used in U.S. laboratories, an increase of more than 6% from 2016. Also, in 2017, a total of 21,861 primates were imported into the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, and Quarantine and Border Health Services Branch.

An estimated 20,110 of the imported primates were long-tailed macaques; one of the most commonly used species in research.

ADI has conducted investigations of primate suppliers around the world. At Biodia, a key breeding facility in Mauritius, one of the world’s largest suppliers, ADI footage showed baby monkeys being torn from their screaming mothers to be tattooed, pregnant monkeys manhandled and pinned down, and monkeys swung by their tails. At supplier Nafovanny in Vietnam, ADI filmed monkeys living in deplorable conditions, with some animals confined to small rusted cages that were in a state of collapse.

In U.S. laboratories, many primates will be used for regulatory safety testing of substances. For such tests, primates will typically endure force-feeding or injections of experimental compounds and full body immobilization in restraint chairs during experiments. Side effects can include rectal prolapse, vomiting, blocked lungs, collapse, self-mutilation and death.

Due to species differences, tests on primates and other animals have been shown to produce misleading results; replacing methods using primates with more sophisticated human-based techniques provides results that are more relevant to people.

In the United States, request your Representatives to support measures accelerating the move away from animals towards more human-relevant research. Find your representatives HERE!

People can also donate to support ADI’s work to help animals in laboratories, HERE!

You can help all animals by choosing compassion on your plate. #GoVeg