Government Caves, Charles River Gains Custody of Trafficked Monkeys: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2025

Contact:
Brandi Pharris 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Science Advisor Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel regarding Charles River Laboratories’ announcement in its second quarter presentation this morning that federal investigations into its monkey trafficking pipeline are closed, and the company has been allowed to keep and experiment on more than 1,000 monkeys imported from Cambodia. The monkeys were previously seized as part of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of Justice, and Homeland Security investigation. In 2023, government officials consulted PETA about placing the allegedly trafficked monkeys in sanctuaries. PETA secured placement and pledged $1 million toward their lifetime care:

Being the world’s biggest animal experimenter wasn’t despicable enough—Charles River has now lowered the bar even further. Federal agencies confirmed these monkeys were torn from their homes and families, but to Charles River, they’re nothing more than inventory to be sold, experimented on, and written off. In its carefully worded statement this morning, Charles River sidestepped two undeniable truths: These monkeys were ripped from the wild and illegally trafficked, and the global primate trade is steeped in zoonotic disease risks—tuberculosis, hepatitis, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and more. By forcing these monkeys through as “cleared shipments,” Charles River is escalating a biosecurity crisis that threatens not just human health, but also other animals, ecosystems, and the very integrity of science. Primate importation needs to stop now for the sake of the animals, public health, and good science.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.