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Say "No" to Monkey Stockpile Proposal

Say "No" to Monkey Stockpile Proposal

monkeySF.jpgIn a recent article in the New York Times, members of the primate research community signaled their intention to lobby the Biden-Harris administration to support a plan to stockpile primates in U.S.-based colonies. This plan blatantly omits important ethical and moral considerations and threatens to reverse revolutionary work on the development and use of innovative models that reflect human biology.

Join us in urging the Biden administration to refrain from authorizing a stockpile of monkeys. Ask that they instead focus our nation’s energy and resources on the development of scientific models that will better predict human response because they use human biology.

 

Calls to Action:

  1. Please contact the Biden-Harris administration and the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
  2. Spread the word! Share this page with your social network.

 

Recipients

  • President Joseph 'Joe' R. Biden
  • Vice President Kamala D. Harris
  • Dr. Francis S. Collins

Contact

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Message

Please do not authorize a stockpile of monkeys for research

Dear [Decision Maker],

I respectfully urge you to refrain from authorizing the creation and funding of a stockpile of monkeys in the United States for use in biomedical or other scientific research. The suggestion to stockpile monkeys, openly discussed by the president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, who has shared his intent to raise a "monkey shortage issue" with your administration, omits serious ethical and moral considerations and threatens to slow down or reverse revolutionary work on the development of human-relevant models.

The current pandemic has highlighted the need for models that use human biology to deliver superior results. More than any administration in our history, you have the opportunity--and the obligation--to invest in human-based models that will better prepare us for future pandemics. Such alternatives are already catching hold across scientific disciplines and proving fruitful without the use of animal test subjects.

Non-human primates are not "resources" to be stockpiled and used at our leisure. They are highly social, complex, emotional creatures deserving of a life free from suffering, pain, and confinement, all of which inevitably await them if they are stashed away for research purposes.

Aside from the serious moral and ethical concerns, the use of animal models as stand-ins for humans too often results in misleading outcomes that delay scientific progress. Approximately 90% of drugs that show promise in animal testing trials do not work in humans. This begs the question of how many potentially effective treatments did not advance to humans because they did not work in animal trials?

In an acknowledgement of the shortcomings of animal testing and the need for human-based models, this year members of Congress have introduced three pieces of bipartisan legislation that would encourage the development of alternative models. The FACT Act (H.R. 197), the AARF Act (A.R. 1905) and the Humane Research and Testing Act (H.R. 1744) will encourage and assist agencies in their efforts to reduce animal testing and develop superior human-relevant research methods.

There is neither a monkey shortage in the United States nor a need to authorize a monkey stockpile. I ask that you invest resources in the development of testing alternatives that will better model human biology and better predict human response.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]