For Immediate Release:
March 17, 2023
Please contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Houston – Please see the following statement from PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel on the 1,000 monkeys brought into the US illegally that continue to be held at Charles River Laboratories facilities:
Charles River Laboratories must pay for the transfer to an accredited sanctuary and lifelong care of 1,000 endangered monkeys it imported illegal and is currently confined to its laboratories in Texas and Maryland. Our efforts have kept these monkeys in the US, but their future is uncertain. We have no assurance that this profit-driven company, now facing both civil and criminal investigations, won’t quietly put the frightened monkeys on a flight to Cambodia to squeeze every last dollar out of them. The US government is also responsible, as such contracted with Charles River for years, awarding the massive animal supplier more than $100 million to operate some of its animal laboratories, including the National Institutes of Health’s large primate facility in Poolesville, Maryland. PETA and Born Free USA continue to work for the liberation of monkeys, and we urge the government to take immediate action to insist on their safe release to an accredited sanctuary. The public can contact the US Fish & Wildlife Service here.
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