![\"Macaque](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-04-20_17-04-17-162-e1745193884848.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n WASHINGTON D.C.,\u00a0 CAMBRIDGE, \u00a0Massachusetts\u2013\u2013<\/strong>Guessing which way the monkey business goes from here amid Donald Trump administration budget cuts and policy moves may be riskier right now than trying to outguess the stock market.<\/p>\n Laboratory demand for monkeys has soared over the past 20 years.\u00a0 The major breeders and importers of monkeys for biomedical research appear to be betting heavily that high demand for monkeys even at prices of $60,000 apiece will continue for long enough to warrant expanding facilities,\u00a0 both in the U.S. and abroad.<\/p>\n [See Lab chimp retirement upstages steep rise in monkey use<\/a> and Will \u201cmonkey shortage\u201d due to COVID-19 bring new research methods?<\/a>]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Wayne Pacelle at Chimp Haven sanctuary for ex-NIH chimps in Lousiana.<\/strong><\/em> Yet U.S. Food & Drug Administration commissioner Martin Makary on April 10, 2025 announced that the FDA is \u201creplacing animal testing,\u201d\u00a0 including testing on monkeys.<\/p>\n \u201cLaboratory animal breeding labs are going to wither unless they change their business practices, \u00a0the regional primate research centers will lose much of their usefulness, \u00a0and there will be an explosion in innovation in biotech grounded on human biology and artificial intelligence,\u201d\u00a0 Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy president Wayne Pacelle projected at an April 15,\u00a0 2025 media conference.<\/p>\n Pacelle clearly took Makary\u2019s statement at face value.<\/p>\n Yet,\u00a0 to the extent that monkeys are involved in FDA work,\u00a0 the Makary statement was somewhat old news.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n White Coat Waste Project has boasted since September 13,\u00a0 2023 of having \u201claid waste to the FDA\u2019s top primate lab and slashed FDA\u2019s monkey testing by 63%.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Food and Drug Administration\u2019s top primate lab shut down all of its tests in addition to its monkey breeding program,\u201d\u00a0 White Coat Waste Project claimed.<\/p>\n But did this actually slow overall laboratory demand for monkeys?<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n On February 18, \u00a02025,\u00a0 about 60 days preceding the Makary announcement, \u00a0People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA] declared that it \u201chas uncovered another shady deal by monkey peddlers who want to turn more than 70 acres of ecologically sensitive land in LaBelle, \u00a0Florida, \u00a0into a massive monkey warehouse. \u00a0The planned facility,\u201d\u00a0 built to house as many as 20,000 macaques,\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cwould receive newly imported monkeys from Vietnam destined for use in cruel and deadly experiments.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this sounds all too familiar to you, \u00a0that\u2019s because it is,\u201d\u00a0 PETA continued.<\/p>\n \u201cSafer Human Medicine, \u00a0the same company that PETA exposed for attempting to build a massive monkey farm in the tiny town of Bainbridge, \u00a0Georgia, \u00a0is behind this disastrous plan, \u00a0too,\u201d\u00a0 PETA said.<\/p>\n [See Monkey business invades Brazoria, Texas, & Bainbridge, Georgia<\/a> and The devil went down to Georgia,\u00a0 looking to breed macaques for labs<\/a>.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe deceptively named Safer Human Medicine,\u201d\u00a0 PETA explained, \u00a0\u201cwas formed by former executives from Envigo and Charles River Laboratories\u2014companies that profit from animal misery and have faced federal investigations for alleged violations of monkey importation laws.<\/p>\n [See Crocodile tears in the monkey labs as Charles River suspends imports<\/a>.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cApparently, \u00a0to distance themselves from this reputation and escape the barrage of backlash from locals and legal troubles they face in Georgia,\u201d\u00a0 PETA alleged, \u00a0\u201cthey\u2019ve rebranded again. \u00a0This time, \u00a0they\u2019re operating under the newly incorporated SIMI United States, LLC, \u00a0to purchase land in LaBelle, \u00a0located between Tampa and Miami,\u201d\u00a0 where monkey breeding for laboratory use is already a long established business.<\/p>\n [See Factory-farming monkeys is A-OK with Hendry County brass<\/a>.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n (PETA photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cVietnam is a major source of monkeys infected with tuberculosis and is under scrutiny by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,\u201d\u00a0 the PETA statement added.<\/p>\n Charged PETA senior science advisor on primate issues Lisa Jones-Engel,\u00a0 Ph.D., \u00a0\u201cIf this massive facility moves forward, it would be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere,\u00a0 fueling unprecedented animal suffering and serious environmental risks.\u201d<\/p>\n There seems to be,\u00a0 at least so far,\u00a0 no hint that SIMI United States, \u00a0LLC, \u00a0might scrap the LaBelle project due to declining demand for monkeys.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Indeed,\u00a0 several Donald Trump administration actions may result in extensive euthanasia of macaques in laboratories in the near future,\u00a0 followed by increased acquisition of macaques later on to replace those used in experiments that have been terminated temporarily be budget cuts,\u00a0 only to be restarted later.<\/p>\n First came waves of firings of federal personnel,\u00a0 especially those on \u201cprobationary status,\u201d\u00a0 in their first two years of employment by the various agencies that use animals in laboratories.<\/p>\n This disproportionately hit laboratory animal care technicians,\u00a0 who tend to be the personnel in labs with the least seniority.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As result of Department of Health & Human Services restructuring,\u00a0 DVM 360<\/em> editor Caitlin McCafferty reported on April 7,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 the Food & Drug Administration \u201cwill ultimately lose 3,500 full-time employees, \u00a0the Centers for Disease Control will decrease by 2,400, \u00a0and the National Institutes of Health by 1,200 employees.\u201d<\/p>\n At minimum that means far fewer people to look after laboratory animals,\u00a0 necessitating euthanasia to downsize animal inventories.<\/p>\n More recently,\u00a0 reported Taylor Romine, \u00a0Lex Harvey, \u00a0Chris Boyette and Lauren Mascarenhas for CNN on April 16, 2025,\u00a0 \u201cHarvard University professors are grappling with difficult\u2013\u2013sometimes life or death\u2013\u2013decisions, \u00a0after being ordered to stop their research this week when the Trump administration froze more than $2.2 billion in funding over the university\u2019s refusal to bow down to policy demands.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHarvard School of Public Health professor Sarah Fortune has been researching tuberculosis for over a decade,\u201d\u00a0 the CNN team mentioned.\u00a0 \u201cShe received a stop-work order this week on a $60 million contract involving more than a dozen labs at schools across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of that research involves a vaccine study on a group of primates in Pittsburgh whose lives are now on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n Altogether,\u00a0 83 primates reportedly may be euthanized due to loss of funding for the halted TB studies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s possible researchers will garner enough external support to save those animals,\u201d\u00a0 CNN continued,\u00a0 Fortune \u201csays there simply isn\u2019t an alternative funding source large enough to support the entire research program.<\/p>\n \u201cIt isn\u2019t just Harvard University jobs on the line,\u201d\u00a0 the CNN team said.\u00a0 \u201cMore than 80% of the money that comes through her tuberculosis contract is funneled to other labs and schools \u2014 including the University of Pittsburgh, \u00a0Case Western Reserve University, \u00a0the University of Washington, \u00a0UMass and MIT, \u00a0Fortune estimates.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Animal Politics blogger Ed Boks on April 20, \u00a02025 criticized Harvard University,\u00a0 \u201cthe wealthiest academic institution on earth,\u201d\u00a0 for what he called \u201ca startling lack of contingency planning, \u00a0a failure to modernize research methodologies, \u00a0and a leadership more inclined to litigate than lead.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than half (58%) of Harvard\u2019s sponsored research relies on federal grants,\u201d\u00a0 Boks wrote.\u00a0 \u201cYet when the freeze hit, \u00a0just $39\u202fmillion in unrestricted reserves were available to bridge the gap\u2014less than 0.1% of the university\u2019s $53\u202fbillion endowment. Administrators declined to reallocate funds to preserve key projects, \u00a0even as animal care and critical diagnostics faced collapse.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile federal agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the FDA invest in non-animal methods\u2014awarding $37\u202fmillion to Harvard\u2019s own Wyss Institute for organ-on-chip platforms\u2014the university has been slow to scale such technologies institution-wide,\u201d\u00a0 Boks charged.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIts official policy to \u2018replace animals with non-animal models whenever possible\u2019 remains aspirational, \u00a0not operational.\u00a0 <\/strong>Harvard\u2019s 2025 Institutional Animal Care reports reveal a troubling reality,\u201d\u00a0 Boks noted.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Primate use increased 18% since 2022 despite internal law school petitions to end macaque experiments.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Mouse colonies expanded to 112,000 annually \u2013 exceeding 1999 projections by 12%\u201d<\/p>\nFDA boss Makary says agency is \u201creplacing animal testing,\u201d\u00a0 but lab monkey suppliers are expanding full speed ahead<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nWayne Pacelle:\u00a0 \u201cRegional primate research centers will lose usefulness\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWhite Coat Waste Project already declared victory \u2013\u2013in 2023<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPETA \u201cuncovered another shady deal by monkey peddlers\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cSafer Human Medicine\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cMonkeys infected with tuberculosis\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cKill now,\u00a0 buy more later\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nLayoffs<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHarvard<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cSlow to scale technologies\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201c<\/strong>Primate use increased 18% since 2022\u2033<\/h2>\n