U.S. Monkeypox Case Highlights Dangers of Primate Laboratories: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
May 19, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from primate scientist and PETA Senior Science Advisor Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel regarding the reported case of monkeypox in Massachusetts:

Anywhere groups of animals are closely confined—as they are in primate laboratories and on cargo planes filled with imported monkeys—monkeypox or other diseases can spill over to humans. Monkeypox, which likely originates in other species, has been found in U.S. primate laboratories in the past. Primate importation, breeding, and experimentation continue to pose infectious disease threats—PETA has documented the presence of Chagas, malaria, tuberculosis, West Nile Virus, and other diseases transmissible to humans in primate facilities across the country. In April, PETA released evidence that at least 2,000 monkeys were transported through multiple states recently without required veterinary inspections, putting humans at risk—prompting us to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which the agency is now investigating. Ripping monkeys from their natural homes, shipping them around the globe, and confining them to cramped laboratory cages has already led to an Ebola scare and the deaths of humans from Herpes B. It’s time to end the dangerous practice of experimenting on primates now.

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