Blood in Cage, Fingers Amputated at Oregon Primate Center Prompts PETA Complaint

For Immediate Release:
October 20, 2026

Contact:
Sydney Rader 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Chief Science Advisor for Primate Experimentation, Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, regarding public records obtained by PETA showing that a young monkey caged at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, run by Oregon Health & Science University, suffered several serious finger injuries requiring multiple amputations. PETA is filing a federal complaint:

A young monkey had fingers cut off because primate center staff apparently couldn’t manage the basic task of securing an enclosure. To make matters worse, this monkey was badly injured, there was blood on the cage floor, and staff still failed to recognize that she needed help. Ultimately, several of her fingers had to be amputated. Records indicate that all of this may have begun because staff at the primate center failed to properly secure a cage partition door. Keeping a cage door from crushing a monkey’s fingers and noticing blood on the floor are about as basic as animal care gets. PETA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for an immediate investigation, and we look forward to the closure of the Oregon National Primate Research Center.

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.