Feds Cite University of Puerto Rico After Two Dozen Monkeys Escape: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
August 26, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Associate Director of Primate Experimentation Campaigns Amy Meyer regarding a just-posted critical violation of the Animal Welfare Act issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture against the University of Puerto Rico’s Caribbean Primate Research Center after 24 rhesus macaques escaped from their outdoor enclosure last December when staff failed to lock the gate properly. One monkey is still missing, while the remaining animals were captured and some euthanized “due to the potential threat of introducing unwanted pathogens to the colony”:

It’s no surprise that monkeys are eager to escape the torment they endure in the University of Puerto Rico’s squalid facilities, but the school’s latest act of brazen incompetence that allowed 24 rhesus macaques to break free is a stunning display that proves staff aren’t locked in when performing basic tasks. But such negligence comes with a body count. Six monkeys are dead, one is still missing, and thousands more remain imprisoned awaiting a world of pointless pain in its laboratories. This latest act of reckless disregard follows the university’s 2022 citation for yet another escape that caused injuries to many monkeys. PETA urges the National Institutes of Health to stop funneling millions of dollars to the university, which has proven time and again that it cannot meet the bare minimum requirements of federal animal care regulations.

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.