The United States is the world’s largest importer of research primates, importing more and more wild macaques — The latest data Shows Cambodia and Mauritius increasing from 174 in 2019 to 2,285 in 2020. Few things are worse than keeping them in a cage.
endangered
Since 2014, the United States is the only country to import wild macaques. During the coronavirus pandemic, the ban on the export of long-tailed macaques from China has led to increased exports of wild and farmed long-tailed macaques from countries such as Cambodia and Mauritius, as well as the resumption of trade with Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Philippines.
In July this year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced the conservation status long-tailed macaque Changed from “vulnerable” to “endangered”.
Other threats include pet and recreational trade, and killing for human consumption.
Sarah Kate, co-founder of Primate Action, said: “This is a wake-up call for how we interact with long-tailed macaques.
“The future of this intelligent non-human primate is seriously threatened due to the impact of human activity on this species and its habitat, particularly the global trade in research and toxicity testing.
“Given that humans are the cause of this threat, we have a moral obligation to act now to protect the long-tailed macaques.”
pain
EU From November 2022, the import of wild-caught monkeys and their offspring for research purposes is prohibited, citing animal welfare, health and ethical concerns arising from wild-caught monkeys.
Conflict between monkeys and local communities is often cited as the reason why authorities allow wild macaques to be captured or killed.
Sarah Kite explained: “The growing encroachment of wildlife habitat is tragically leading to avoidable conflicts, and there are humane ways to prevent them.
“Despite widespread global concern about the inhumane capture of wild monkeys and new assessments of their conservation status, macaques continue to be taken from their natural habitats, families and social groups. This is a cruel trade that causes great suffering.”
The IPS also asked editors of scientific journals to refuse to publish biomedical research on primates from wild populations.
cage
The long-tailed macaque is native to Southeast Asia and is the most traded primate for laboratory use. Historically, the trade relied on the capture of wild macaques.
But industrialization expanded in the 1990s monkey farm in Cambodia, China, Laos, Mauritius, Vietnamnow Indonesia.
Tens of thousands of macaques are kept in barren concrete barbed wire enclosures with no leaves, in stark contrast to their dense forest homes.
Primatologist and Fulbright Scholar Dr. Lisa Jones-Engle said: “Macaque monkeys are so social and intelligent that there are few things worse than keeping them in a cage.”
In fact, the increase in wild primate catches reflects an increase in the export of farmed macaques. Cambodian exports to the US have almost tripled in two years, from 6,562 in 2018 to 19,582 in 2020.
In 2018, Mauritius 2,649 macaques were exported, increasing to 7,234 by 2020. Laos announced an increase in its export quota from 3,000 to 6,000 in 2022, and Indonesia’s 2021 export quota was set at 2,070 wild macaques. Authorities have confirmed the 2022 quota has been delayed ahead of the census.
Macaque export research Ship in small shipping boxes and endure journeys up to 48 hours as cargo on the plane. In 2021, several monkeys die in one Vamos Air Fly from Cambodia to the United States.
Rich
There are serious concerns about the ecological impact this trade will have on species and the environment.
Dr. Malene Friis Hansen, Director Long-tailed Macaque Project Long-tailed macaques are adaptable all-rounders and risk a range of ecological consequences if they are removed from their habitat, said the co-authors of the IPS policy.
“They are seed dispersers, forest and savanna regenerators, prey and predators — remove them and many ecological roles will be vacant,” she said.
Macaques are also hosts for parasites: “Remove the macaques, and the mosquitoes have to find another host. In the case of the long-tailed macaques, there was an outbreak of malaria in humans.”
In 2006, an estimated 3 Thousands of Macaques in Southeast Asia, however, the population is thought to be overestimated. Macaques prefer forest edges, so visibility led to the hypothesis of over-enrichment.
“It’s hard for us to understand how threatened an animal might be when we can find it and see it,” Dr Hansen said.
“In fact, if you go into the area behind them in the forest, for example, there may be no macaques there. If the trade continues, it could lead to the extinction of unprotected populations.”
Unlawful
The researchers also expressed serious concern that macaque farms may Cleaning wild-caught captive breeding And regularly remove primates from their natural habitat for maintenance.
Laos used to be stop trading CITES trades macaques out of concerns about the illegality of their macaque trade.
However, little is known about the financial value of the deal, research shows From 2010 to 2019, international trade in macaques was US$1.25 billion.
Macaques sell for as much as $10,000 in the U.S. commercial market. The high prices that dealers pay for wild-caught macaques in Cambodia – which are then laundered on farms or smuggled abroad – could lead to their elimination in much of the country.
Dr. Jones-Engel, Senior Scientific Advisor to Animal Rights PETAsaid: “Experimenters’ desire for more and more monkeys is fueling this lucrative trade. The animal experimentation industry has targeted these species, and when huge sums of money are involved, the monkeys die – maybe even disappear completely.
“The primate experimentation industry will have a profound impact on the extinction of these species.”
In fact, while Cambodia recently doubled its macaque exports, activists say Cambodian farms are unlikely Double the output The number of macaques in a year – they reproduce slowly in captivity.
toxicity
Over the past decade, more than 250,000 macaques have been imported into research facilities in the United States, and there are currently 108,526 Monkeys in an American laboratory.America has seven Primate Research center.
Long-tailed macaques are the main primate Toxicity test To evaluate the side effects of drugs or chemicals.
This involves monkeys being injected or given drugs through a tube forced into their stomachs through a process called “gavage.” This is done without anesthesia.
It can be administered daily for months or years, with side effects including vomiting, fitting, internal bleeding and death. “Macaques are ‘throw-away’ monkeys,” Dr Jones-Engel said.
China, Canada, Germany, France and Japan all use large numbers of primates in research.exist 2021, 2,679 Experiments were carried out on macaques in the UK.
supporter The argument that primates are used for research is that without animal research, we would not be able to produce life-changing medicines.
Survive
still comprehensive 2015 Research The study looked at whether toxicology tests in monkeys could help predict human responses, analyzing data from more than 3,000 drugs.
It concluded that the tests provided little evidence of the likelihood of no side effects in humans when there were no side effects in animals.
Dr Jarrod Bailey said: “Animal drug testing is not suitable for its stated purpose of predicting safety in humans.”
Dr Jones-Engel was equally clear: “More than a million macaques have been ripped from forests, boxed, shipped around the world, tortured and killed in laboratories.
“Scientists have justified extreme harm to primates by promising to discover new treatments for humans.
“However, species differences and the stressful effects of laboratory life on the physiology of these animals mean that the data emerging from these experiments are often not scientifically valid.”
She added: “The continued use of monkeys violates fundamental principles of scientific integrity and threatens public health and the survival of primates. It must stop.”
ecologist All US National Primate Research Centers were contacted to ask if they would stop the importation of wild-caught macaques based on IPS guidance.The only response came from Washington National Primate Research Center Who said they couldn’t comment at launch.
this author
Claire Colley is a UK-based freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker.
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