This makes them particularly useful for research into vision. They were used to show whether potential vaccines were effective and safe. Only after animals testing were vaccines trialled in humans. We filmed marmosets used in this research. More examples of how monkeys are used in research are listed in our iBook: Primates in Medical Research. How are the monkeys looked after? Due to their high levels of intelligence and sociability, monkeys are usually kept in pairs or groups, given ample vertical space to climb and swing and are encouraged to forage for food.
This is to mimic their daily activity in the wild. As standard practice, vet is on call 24 hours a day and care is taken to ensure they do not suffer pain and discomfort. You can watch macaques in the Oxford Primate facility in our online lab tour. China has become an important supplier of cynomolgus macaques Macaca fascicularis , but stopped shipping the animals once the pandemic began. The change was hardest on pharmaceutical companies, which prefer that species for drug trials.
Anderson says the NIH's focus is on rhesus macaques, which are most in demand at academic labs. Rhesus monkeys tend to thrive in captive research environments, and decades of research on the species means their biology and genetics are well understood.
Some of these funds helped increase capacity at biosafety labs that securely house monkeys infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV An outdoor arrangement is cheaper and potentially better for the animals than an indoor one, says Hild. First monkey—human embryos reignite debate over hybrid animals. At the Tulane NPRC in Covington, Louisiana, associate director Skip Bohm is aiming to add 1, monkeys to the 4, in the breeding colony that the centre currently houses.
But he cautions that the impact of the funds will be some time coming. The centre currently holds 2, animals, mostly baboons, rhesus macaques and marmosets. The centre asked Pfizer to supply its own non-human primates for the work, says its director, Deepak Kaushal.
News 11 NOV Career Guide 10 NOV The centers did not produce the hoped-for results. Three federal assessments found that the research conducted by the centers fell far short of expectations in terms of quality, and many deficiencies were also noted. Suddenly, there was renewed focus on research in nonhuman primates.
Primates are used for a wide variety of research purposes. An analysis of one thousand federally funded studies that involved nonhuman primates found that research on HIV accounted for about 27 percent of the funding, followed by colony maintenance likely because caring for primates is costly at 15 percent, neurological research at 14 percent, and developmental research at 10 percent.
Phasing out primate use should be a priority for ethical, scientific, and economic reasons. The ethical concerns fall into two categories. One of them is the nature of the primates themselves. They are well known for their cognitive and emotional abilities. Studies demonstrate that they have mathematical, memory, and problem-solving skills and that they experience emotions similar to those of humans—for example, depression, anxiety, and joy.
Chimpanzees can learn human languages, such as American Sign Language. Primates also have very long lifespans, which is an ethical issue because they are typically held in laboratories for decades and experimented on repeatedly. The other category of ethical concern is how primates are treated.
Each year, thousands are captured from the wild, mostly in Asia and Mauritius, and transported to other countries. For example, China sets up breeding colonies, and the infants are sold to various countries, including the United States and European countries.
The animals experience considerable stress, such as days of transport in small crates and restrictions on food and water intake. Studies show that it takes months for their physiological systems to return to baseline levels, [5] and then they face the trauma of research, including infection with virulent diseases, social isolation, food and water deprivation, withdrawal from drugs, and repeated surgeries.
Providing for the welfare of primates in a laboratory setting is very challenging. According to the Animal Welfare Act, each facility must develop and follow a plan for environmental enhancement to promote the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates. The plan must address social grouping; enriching the environment, with special consideration for great apes; caring for infants, young juveniles, and those primates showing signs of psychological distress; and ensuring the well-being of those primates who are used in a protocol requiring restricted activity.
Social companionship is the most important psychological factor for most primates. Federal law requires institutions to house primates in groups unless there is justification, such as debilitation as a result of age or other conditions, for housing them alone. But a recent analysis of documents from two large facilities obtained by The Humane Society of the United States demonstrates that primates spent an average of 53 percent of their lives housed alone.
As we have done with chimpanzees, we need to critically analyze uses of other nonhuman primates. A good starting point would be the formation of a working group of diverse stakeholders who agree that ending primate research is a worthwhile goal. Discover Membership. Editions Quartz. More from Quartz About Quartz. Follow Quartz. These are some of our most ambitious editorial projects.
By Justin Rohrlich Geopolitics reporter. Published November 6, This article is more than 2 years old.
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