PETA is urging the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to compel their member states to halt the movement of endangered monkeys around the globe—both for the sake of exploited animals and to prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB) along with them.
The letters were prompted by a just-published major and damning exposé by anti-animal experimentation group Abolición Vivisección, which is based in Spain, showing significant and dangerous negligence at Camarney—the largest monkey prison in Europe. The monkeys imported by this company come mostly from Mauritius, where there has been a TB outbreak that can be dangerous for humans who work in the laboratories where the monkeys end up.
Camarney is owned by Noveprim Limited (a Mauritian company), and 49% of the shares of that company are owned by the notorious Charles River Laboratories.
PETA’s letter alerts officials at the WHO and the WOAH to the problems Abolición Vivisección found at Camarney, including the following:
- The health certificates for some monkeys were missing, making it impossible to trace their origins or health histories.
- In December 2018, inspectors were unable to enter parts of the facility where monkeys were kept because Camarney didn’t have updated TB test results.
- Neither cause-of-death nor necropsy results were recorded for macaques who had died at the facility.
- The hospital unit was not structurally segregated and did not provide appropriate isolation from the general population.
- Sanitary conditions were inadequate.
These problems are dangerous on their own—since trade in long-tailed macaques is recognized as a driver of spillover risk and disease spread—but they also violate the guidelines the WOAH relies on to enforce standards for animal health. And the Camarney case is not the first.
Outbreak on Mauritius Monkey Farm
In May, 200 monkeys at Bioculture Mauritius, the island nation’s largest exporter of macaques to facilities in the U.S. and Europe, were euthanized during an outbreak of tuberculosis.
Bioculture continues to ship monkeys. Whether the company abides by the WOAH standard that states “no case of tuberculosis … has occurred during the last two years prior to shipment in the building where the animals are kept” is unknown.
Inadequate TB Testing in the U.S.
States across the U.S. have allowed monkeys to be boxed up and trucked across the country from laboratory to laboratory without timely TB tests. The guidelines promoted by the WHO and the WOAH state that monkeys shipped internationally should pass two TB tests, two weeks apart, in the month before shipping.
But PETA recently documented that nine states appear to have violated this standard on at least 25 separate occasions since August 2021. These state-to-state transports in cramped trucks, which can take more than 24 hours, should be held to the same international standard.
TB Outbreak at Michigan Laboratory
In Michigan, a reportable disease investigation was initiated after employees at a primate facility were exposed to wild-caught monkeys imported from Mauritius and two workers were referred for treatment. These animals would have undergone multiple tests for TB while in quarantine, as mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They would also have been tested for TB prior to being exported from Mauritius.
Documents from the CDC show that beginning in 2021, there was an eightfold increase in the detection of TB in imported monkeys to the U.S. during the CDC-mandated quarantine. The Michigan outbreak is the most recent example of infected monkeys exiting that quarantine.
What You Can Do
Charles River is embroiled in its own scandal after allegedly violating importation laws. More than 1,000 endangered long-tailed macaques the company brought to the U.S. last year are apparently still held inside its barren steel cages, and PETA is pushing authorities to order their release to reputable sanctuaries. The experimentation industry ships long-tailed macaques globally, despite the WOAH statement that endangered species should be used for experiments only in “exceptional circumstances.”
Tell the feds to stop stalling and send the 1,269 endangered long-tailed macaques in legal limbo at Charles River Laboratories to a sanctuary:
PETA inawahimiza Shirika la Afya Duniani (WHO) na Shirika la Afya ya Wanyama Duniani (WOAH) kulazimisha nchi wanachama wao kukomesha harakati za nyani walio hatarini mwa kutoweka ulimwenguni kote - wote kwa ajili ya wanyama wanaotumiwa na kuzuia kuenea kwa kifua kikuu (TB) pamoja nao. Barua hizo zilitokana na ripoti ya kundi la kupinga majaribio ya wanyama la Abolición Vivisección, ambalo lina makao yake makuu nchini Hispania, ambayo inaonyesha ukosefu mkubwa wa uangalifu na hatari katika gereza kubwa zaidi la nyani la Camarney. Wanyama hao wametoka Mauritius, ambapo ugonjwa wa kifua kikuu umesambaa na kuwa hatari kwa watu wanaofanya kazi katika maabara. Kampuni ya Noveprime Limited, ambayo ni kampuni ya Mauritius, ina ushirika wa kampuni ya Charles River Laboratories. Barua ya PETA inawaonya maafisa wa WHO na WOAH juu ya matatizo ya Abolición Vivisección yaliyopatikana huko Camarney, ikiwa ni pamoja na yafuatayo: Vyeti vya afya kwa nyani fulani vilikuwa vimekosa, na kufanya iwe vigumu kufuatilia asili yao au historia ya afya. Katika Desemba 2018, wakaguzi walishindwa kuingia sehemu za kituo hicho ambapo nyani walikuwa wakihifadhiwa kwa sababu Camarney hakuwa na matokeo ya hivi karibuni ya uchunguzi wa kifua kikuu. - Hakuna sababu ya kifo wala matokeo ya uchunguzi wa maiti yaliyoandikwa kwa ajili ya nyani waliokufa katika kituo hicho. - Kitengo cha hospitali hakikuwa na utengano wa muundo na hakikuandaa kutengwa kwa kufaa kutoka kwa idadi ya watu kwa ujumla. - Hali za usafi hazikuwa nzuri. Matatizo haya ni hatari kwa wenyewe - kwani biashara ya macaques ya mkia mrefu inatambuliwa kama dereva wa hatari ya kuenea na kuenea kwa ugonjwa - lakini pia yanakiuka miongozo ambayo WOAH inategemea kutekeleza viwango vya afya ya wanyama. Kesi ya Camarney haikuwa ya kwanza. Katika mwaka wa 2015, nyani 200 katika shamba la BioCulture Mauritius, nchi ya kisiwa hicho iliyokuwa na wauzaji wakubwa wa nyani wa aina ya macaque, waliuawa kwa sababu ya ugonjwa wa kifua kikuu. Biokulture inaendelea kusafirisha nyani. "Hata hivyo, haijulikani ikiwa kampuni hiyo inatii kiwango cha WHO ambacho kinasema ""hakuna kesi ya kifua kikuu... imetokea katika miaka miwili iliyopita kabla ya usafirishaji katika jengo ambapo wanyama wanawekwa.""" Kwa sababu ya upungufu wa vipimo vya kifua kikuu katika majimbo ya Marekani, nyani wamepelekwa kwenye makapu na magari kutoka maabara moja hadi nyingine bila kupimwa kwa wakati. "Miongozo ya WHO na WHO inadai kwamba nyani wanaosafirishwa kimataifa wanapaswa ""kupitia vipimo viwili vya kifua kikuu, kwa muda wa wiki mbili, katika mwezi kabla ya usafirishaji.""" PETA imesema kuwa majimbo tisa yamevunja sheria hiyo mara 25 tangu Agosti 2021. Usafirishaji wa magari ya kukokotwa na magari ya kubebea mizigo, ambayo inaweza kuchukua zaidi ya masaa 24, inapaswa kushikiliwa kwa kiwango sawa cha kimataifa. Ugonjwa wa kifua kikuu katika maabara ya Michigan, Marekani, umeanza uchunguzi baada ya wafanyakazi wa kituo cha kuhifadhi wanyama wa aina ya primate kuambukizwa nyani waliovuliwa katika mazingira ya asili kutoka Mauritius na wafanyakazi wawili kuelekezwa kwa matibabu. Wanyama hao walipigwa na vipimo vya TB wakati wa karantini, kama ilivyoamriwa na Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC). Pia wangekuwa wamechunguzwa kwa ugonjwa wa kifua kikuu kabla ya kusafirishwa kutoka Mauritius. Takwimu kutoka CDC zinaonyesha kuwa kuanzia 2021, kulikuwa na ongezeko la mara nane katika kugunduliwa kwa kifua kikuu katika nyani waliopelekwa nchini Marekani wakati wa karantini iliyopewa na CDC. Mlipuko wa Michigan ni mfano wa hivi karibuni wa nyani walioambukizwa kutoka kwa karantini hiyo. Charles River amehusika katika kashfa yake mwenyewe baada ya kudai kuvunja sheria za uagizaji. Makaki zaidi ya 1,000 wa mkia mrefu walioletwa nchini Marekani mwaka jana bado wanafungwa ndani ya magereza ya chuma, na shirika la PETA linawasukuma mamlaka kuamuru waachiliwe katika maeneo ya hifadhi. "Wanasayansi wa kimataifa wanaamini kwamba ""mimea ya nyani ndefu inayokabili hatari ya kutoweka inapaswa kutumiwa kwa majaribio tu katika hali za kipekee"" na wanadai kwamba ""mnyama huyo anayekabili hatari ya kutoweka"" atupwe kwenye hifadhi ya wanyama."