Tuberculosis Outbreak in Second-Largest Monkey-Exporting Country Prompts Call for a Ban From Animal Protection Groups

For Immediate Release:
May 5, 2023

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA, Action for Primates, Abolición Vivisección, and One Voice regarding an outbreak of tuberculosis on a monkey farm in Mauritius, the second-largest exporting country of monkeys destined for laboratories:

The tuberculosis (TB) outbreak on a monkey farm in Mauritius is just the latest fuel added to the ever-growing conflagration in the monkey-abduction pipeline for the global research and toxicity (poisoning) testing industry. Any monkey testing positive for TB on this monkey factory farm signals that there are likely many more, some of whom may have already been shipped to customers like Charles River Laboratories in the U.S. and other laboratories in France, Spain, and the U.K.—all countries that regularly import long-tailed macaques from Mauritius. Animal protection groups have been sounding the alarm for years: Not only is confining hundreds of monkeys in crowded, unnatural conditions inhumane, it also inevitably spreads diseases and confounds research.

Tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease that can be transmitted between monkeys and humans. Importantly, testing isn’t completely reliable, being complicated by false negatives. Due to the serious nature of the disease and the lack of effective treatment, it’s likely that other monkeys who reside in the same facility would be killed along with those who test positive for TB. If monkeys have been moved between facilities, it would compound the problem. We are calling on the Mauritius government to stop exports of macaques and on our respective governmental agencies to ban monkey imports from Mauritius immediately.

Within just the past six months, hundreds of monkeys were seized by authorities in Mauritius after they were allegedly illegally captured, several U.S. primate importers are under U.S. federal investigation over questions about the origin of imported monkeys, long-tailed macaques are on the brink of extinction, and Cambodian officials and nationals have been indicted for alleged monkey trafficking.

There is only one solution to the situation: In the interests of public safety and compassion toward monkeys, the international trade in primates for laboratory use should end.

For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.