All seven monkeys had some amount of the experimental dye on their fur, skin or around the mouth, which triggered a deadly allergic reaction. All were infants, none more than a few weeks old, with one just a day old.
OLIVER MILMAN: ‘Seven infant monkeys were poisoned and died at one of the largest primate research centers in the US, internal documents have revealed… The young macaques died after their mothers were marked with dye at the University of California, Davis, primate research laboratory. Once reunited with their infants, the female macaques inadvertently transferred the dye, which proved toxic to them. Seven of the infants, none more than a few weeks old – with one just a day old – subsequently died…
UC Davis told the federal watchdog Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare that two of the infants were found to have “generalized weakness and respiratory distress”, with dye found on their lips and tongues. Both of these infants had “severe edema and swelling of the larynx and tongue” and, despite emergency treatment, died. The other deceased infants were “either found dead or euthanized upon arrival at the hospital”. All seven of them had some amount of dye on their fur, skin or around the mouth, which probably triggered a deadly allergic reaction…
The tragedy is the latest blow to the primate research operation at UC Davis, one of the largest in the country. The university said it had about 4,200 primates, mostly rhesus macaques, which it keeps for research into HIV/Aids, Zika virus and other infectious diseases, respiratory disease, reproductive health, Alzheimer’s disease and ageing. In 2016, it emerged that UC Davis was among nine federally funded research centers being investigated over mistreatment of primates.
In March of that year, a primate fractured both legs after escaping through an unsecured door at the facility, with another primate subsequently injured following a similar incident… UC Davis has been targeted by animal rights activists over these incidents, as well as a 2005 episode where seven monkeys died from apparent heat exposure. The US Department of Agriculture subsequently handed the university a $4,815 fine…
The US government has curbed some primate research in recent years, with the National Institutes of Health announcing in 2015 it would no longer fund biomedical research on chimpanzees. Facing hefty public opposition to primate testing, some facilities, such as at Harvard, have wound down their programs and sent their apes and monkeys to sanctuaries. Testing on primates in the US is far from over, however, with figures released last year showing nearly 76,000 non-human primates in captivity for research purposes’. MORE…
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