Dozens of Oregonians, PETA Call for Closure of Primate Center at State Capitol: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
May 13, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo regarding the hearing today before the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans regarding Senate Bill 181, which would limit state-funded experiments on dogs and cats. Dozens of people, PHOTOS BELOW, including representatives and supporters of PETA, urged for an amendment to be added to the bill to call for the closure of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health and Human Services:

Dozens of speakers condemned the bad science, horrific abuse, and cruel deaths at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at the state capitol today, with one clear request for leadership: Amend Senate Bill 181 to close the primate center. The speakers and others who turned out in support join the 20,000 other state residents who have signed a petition calling for the phase out of the laboratory and tens of thousands of others who have posted comments on social media. The federal government has cited the primate center for dozens of violations, and monkeys have been crushed, died of strangulation, scalded to death in high-temperature cage washes, dosed with the wrong test compound, and more. No good is coming out of the OHSU primate center. We urge legislators to listen to their constituents and demand a plan for shutting down the facility now.

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.