Four Monkeys Escaped—With Viruses? PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
January 21, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the statement by primatologist and PETA science advisor Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel on the escape of at least four monkeys following the crash of a truck carrying 100 monkeys to a laboratory:

Because these 100 long-tailed macaque monkeys were headed to a laboratory to be caged, tormented, and killed, they were already in danger—but now the public is, too. The four who got away are undoubtedly terrified and likely injured, and they may be harboring viruses that are transmissible to humans. There is no way to ensure that monkeys are virus-free, and state veterinary and other records show that monkeys in laboratories in the U.S. have been found with tuberculosis, Chagas disease, cholera, and MRSA. The only way to ensure that pathogens don’t jump from monkeys to humans is to stop importing, caging, and experimenting on these animals.

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