By Founder of Primates Incorporated, Amy Kerwin
Calling all Laboratory Personnel:
I am reaching out for your feedback because I plan to write another commentary about overcoming the challenges of sending monkeys to sanctuaries from laboratories in 2025.
I am summing up the barriers from the 2006 commentary I where wrote about overcoming the challenges of sending monkeys from laboratories to sanctuaries. Since then, Primates Incorporated was formed and we took in the first monkey residents in 2018 from out-of-state laboratories. I have learned a lot since the sanctuary opened and have now witnessed the challenges (barriers) below and have added a few more barriers to the list since the sanctuary opened.
Barriers against sending monkeys to sanctuary (feedback from laboratory and sanctuary communities):
- Convenience – cheaper for lab to euthanize monkey than send to sanctuary
- High demand – such a demand for monkeys in research, they must be re-sold
- “Animal Rights” perception in the laboratory – giving back to the monkeys implies they have rights and deserve sanctuary, which is typically contrary to pro-animal research views
- Trust issue – a sanctuary says they have “rescued” the monkey, making the laboratory institution look less favorable
- Concern for health and long-term care – cannot monitor year after year
- Lack of funding available to send monkeys to sanctuary for various reasons
- Concern that sending monkey to sanctuary allows for more monkeys to be bred for more research
- Pet trade is burdening sanctuaries, leaving less room to help the monkeys
- The public does not know about the need to help monkeys since they do not know about the numbers of monkeys still living in laboratories and the pet trade
- Disagreement amongst laboratories about sending monkeys onward contributes to lack of policy development
- Lack of support from animal advocacy and rights groups who believe sending monkeys to sanctuary perpetuates the use of monkeys for research (a two-pronged arguments – (1) putting resources into sanctuaries and monkeys’ continued care after use in labs distracts from the “root cause” issue of stopping animal testing, and (2) sanctuaries provide a place for monkeys to go after research, thus justifying their use in research).
Please let me know any additional barriers you can think of.
**Then the very important request: can you please list out suggestions on how to overcome the above barriers? Please also list any benefits you see from sending monkeys to sanctuary.
I will keep your input confidential, but would like to share your job title and feedback in the commentary.
Please email amy (at) primatesinc.com.
Thank you,
Amy Kerwin, M.B.A.
Former Primate Research Specialist
Founder, Primates Incorporated