British Celebrities Fight the Research Monkey Trade

by Pamela Black · 2011-04-06 09:59:00 UTC
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What do Jane Goodall, Ricky Gervais and Twiggy have in common? These Brits are concerned with a loophole in laws regarding the ban on importing wild primates for research experiments. They, along with a number of other British scientists and celebrities, have teamed up with British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection to call on Prime Minister David Cameron to tighten regulations.

The U.K.’s Animal Procedures Committee, the agency responsible for overseeing research license applications, has stated that capturing wild primates causes excessive suffering and stress. As a result, there has been a ban on importing wild primates since 1997. Sounds good, but here’s the problem: Wild-caught primates are illegal to import into the U.K. for research experiments; their offspring are not.

Countries like Mauritius (an island off the coast of Africa near Madagascar) have many breeding farms to produce primates for export. Babies are shipped all over the U.K., Europe and the U.S. The island is currently the largest supplier of primates in the U.K, specializing in long-tailed macaques. BUAV estimates up to 10,000 macaques are exported from Mauritius each year.

The payoff is big: over £25 million (roughly $40.7 million U.S.) per year. The long-tailed macaque is not indigenous to Mauritius. The country is overrun by the “pests” and they are killed at every opportunity. Since wild adults are not marketable for research, many are captured to breed even more primates. It's a vicious cycle that inevitably ends in the deaths of macaques from multiple forms of cruelty.

Mauritius cannot take all the blame. If it wasn’t this country, it would be another. Back in 2008, all eyes were on Cambodia. The originating country may have changed in the last three years, but the result is the same: wild baby primates are being sold for research experiments the world over.

The U.K. is supposed to be known for its high standards of animal welfare. British Airways has taken the high road and refuses to ship primates internationally that are intended for research. In this respect, the government is kilometers behind the private sector.

The world is watching, Britain. Call on the British Government to close the loophole on importing captive wild baby primates.

Photo Credit: Shawn Allen

Pamela Black has nearly a decade of experience with animal non-profit organizations and has a Masters' degree in Animals and Public Policy.

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