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Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
S. A. E. N.
"Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation"

Fact Sheets

Primate Experimentation in the U.S. – UCLA
Downloadable PDF Version

The Facts About Primate Experimentation

Primate experimentation in the U.S. is out of control. The most accurate numbers available indicate that approximately 120,000 primates are imprisoned in US labs, an all-time high.

Funding for primate experimentation has also increased reaching $1.6 billion during fiscal 2002. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is responsible for most of this waste, contributing over $950 million to the total. The number of NIH-funded primate projects has increased 67% in the last ten years. Other government agencies funding this atrocity include the National Science Foundation, United States Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Defense.

Widespread Misery

Many different species of primates including macaque monkeys, squirrel monkeys, baboons, and chimpanzees are experimented on in many different ways. Macaque monkeys are used most often, with baboons second and squirrel monkeys third.

Isolation is severely stressful to primates. In fact, 10% of isolated primates are so severely stressed that they begin to engage in self-injurious behavior. Many different psychological experiments also stress primates severely.

Suffering Primates inside UCLA Labs

Many of the primates within the labs of UCLA have serious pathological conditions. Intestinal parasites are common. Serious bacterial infections result from many of the most invasive research protocols.

The psychological well-being of the primates at UCLA is also a major issue. Internal UCLA records indicate the seriousness of the situation. Apparently some of the primates at UCLA have become self-destructive – injuring themselves repeatedly.

Primate 9730 -- “Animal has history of ulceration @ tip of tail following amputation on 3/25/03. Please follow the healing since he recently removed granulated/scabbed over tail tip.” Other injuries included: 3/7/03 severed gastrocnemius tendon; 3/21/03 deep laceration to tail; 3/25 palm laceration; 12/11/03 laceration to upper lip; 12/13/03 laceration to upper lip reopened; 2/11/04 ulcerated tail tip. We believe that this is a clear instance of self-mutilation due to psychological stress. On 4-19-04 the chemical mptp was injected into the carotid artery; this drug mimics Parkinson’s disease.

Primate 30303 JACK – First diagnostics done on 5/24/03 – positive for enterococcus and staphylococcus bacteria; and candida yeast infections. A very acute head cap infection is noted on 6/6/03; the head cap infection persists to at least 6/23/03. On 2-19-04 eye coils are implanted.

Primate 9797 – Surgical stereotaxic implantation of deep stimulator and electrode into the subthalmic nucleus of the brain on 4/14/04

UCLA Experiments

Many primates at UCLA are used in brain-mapping experiments. These projects attach recording cylinders to the skulls of these innocent animals. Eye coils are implanted. Electrodes are forced into the brain. Primates are also confined to restraint chairs and deprived of water for extended periods of time, as much as 22 hours per day.

Craniotomies are often performed on primates at UCLA. These procedures cut holes into the animals’ skull for the insertion of electrodes into the brain. Other procedures cut openings into the membranes that protect the brain for electrode insertion. Restraint bars are attached to the skulls of these animals, so their heads can literally be bolted into place during experimental procedures.

Government Waste

Most primates are not used in experiments that study the diseases that kill most Americans. Projects that study primate psychology, alcohol & addictive drugs, brain-mapping, and sex in primates far outnumber studies involving heart disease or cancer.

Repetition is rampant among NIH-funded projects. Currently, 175 NIH projects study neural information processing in macaque monkeys. These useless experiments waste over $70 million in federal tax dollars every year. Many of these projects continue on for decades wasting millions of tax dollars each year and victimizing primates for an entire lifetime.

What you can do to help:

1. Read, copy, and distribute this fact sheet.

2. Write to your federal legislators to request a General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded primate experimentation.

The Honorable____________ 202-234-3121
U.S. House of Representatives www.house.gov
Washington, D.C. 20515

Senator __________________ 202-234-3121
U.S. Senate www.senate.gov
Washington, D.C. 20510

3. Send as large a tax-deductible donation as you can afford to Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) to support this campaign.

Downloadable PDF Version

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