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Dr. Robert Gibbens Director, Western Region, USDAReport: Seven baby monkeys died at UCD research center
From
Caleb Hampton, DavisEnterprise.com, June 18, 2019
According to documents obtained this week by the Guardian, seven baby
monkeys at the UC Davis primate research center died in April 2018. The
infant monkeys were accidentally poisoned by a dye used to mark their
mothers, documents stated. When the mothers were reunited with the infant
macaques, the babies came into contact with the dye, which turned out to be
toxic to them. The youngest of the seven monkeys to die was just a day old.
The documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, state that
emergency treatment on two of the infants, who were found with “generalized
weakness and respiratory distress,” was unsuccessful. The other five monkeys
were found dead. All seven of the monkeys had dye on their fur, skin, mouth
or tongue.
UC Davis reported the deaths to federal authorities last year. With about
4,200 primates, the primate research center at UC Davis is one of the
largest in the country. The monkeys are used for research into HIV/Aids,
Alzheimer’s disease, Zika virus and other diseases.
The recently disclosed deaths are not the first incident to attract
controversy to the primate center. In 2016, UC Davis was investigated for
mistreatment of primates at the center after a monkey fractured two legs
attempting to escape from the facility. In 2005, seven monkeys died at once,
most likely from heat exposure.
The primate center has frequently been targeted by animal rights activists.
In January 2019, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), sued UC
Davis for footage of the monkey’s enclosures, which the animal rights
organization call a “den of horrors.”
In response to the recent incident, the Office of Laboratory and Animal
Welfare told UCD that monkeys younger than six months old should not be
marked with dye or exposed to it.
John Gluck, a former primate researcher, told the Guardian that based on the
information available, the seven recent deaths were a result of negligence
by the university.
Some groups have gone a step further. Stop Animal Exploitation NOW (SAEN), a
non-governmental watchdog that monitors research facilities for animal
abuse, alleged that UC Davis has engaged in a cover-up. SAEN has accused the
university of trying to pass the deaths off as an allergic reaction,
suggesting that two of the monkeys may have had unrelated infections and
died due to inadequate veterinary care. The group filed a USDA Complaint,
requesting that UC Davis be fined $10,000 per animal, the maximum federal
penalty.
“We strive to take the best possible care of animals in our charge,” a UC
Davis spokesman told the Guardian. He added that after the deaths, UC Davis
stopped dye-marking monkeys under 6 months old and made other procedural
changes to minimize dye transfer between monkeys.