A new bipartisan alliance between Florida and Nevada lawmakers and animal rights advocates is calling for an immediate end to the importation of monkeys for U.S. laboratories.
On Thursday, Representatives Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.) introduced the PRIMATE Act, a move PETA is hailing as a “groundbreaking” step toward shutting down a global supply chain they describe as inherently dangerous and inhumane.
The legislation, first reported by the Tampa Free Press, aims to stop the shipment of more than 20,000 monkeys into the U.S. every year from regions including Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. While the bill’s primary mechanism is a ban on imports for research, the driving force behind the push is a mix of biosecurity fears and the ethical treatment of animals.
PETA, which has officially thrown its weight behind the bill, revealed that its review of CDC records found a sharp rise in imported monkeys carrying tuberculosis, malaria, and the deadly Herpes B virus.
The organization argues that current CDC quarantine requirements are “dangerously outdated,” noting that tuberculosis tests are often inaccurate and that labs aren’t required to report certain infections found after the quarantine period ends.
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“Every year, tens of thousands of monkeys are funneled into the United States through a global supply chain that is inherently unstable, opaque, and a public health risk,” said Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, PETA’s Chief Science Advisor. She added that state-of-the-art research simply doesn’t need this pipeline anymore.
The push for the ban comes on the heels of a disturbing biosecurity breach in Florida. Recently, a live monkey flown in from Africa was mistakenly tossed into a biohazard dumpster at a facility and went undiscovered for five days. Following PETA’s report to state officials, the president of the importation company, BC US, faced criminal charges.
Representative Steube emphasized the risk to the public, stating that Americans should not have to worry about diseases entering the country through “countries we don’t trust to handle biosecurity risks.”
Representative Titus echoed this, calling the move the “right thing to do” and pointing to newer, scientifically backed technologies that provide more accurate testing without the use of live animals.
Beyond the disease risk, advocates point out that the trade is devastating wildlife. Long-tailed macaques are being pushed toward extinction as they are abducted from forests or bred on squalid farms. The PRIMATE Act would effectively end the practice of using taxpayer dollars to support these imports, forcing a shift toward what the bill’s sponsors call more innovative and safer science.
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