Photo Op: PETA ‘Monkey’ to Greet Trump Motorcade in Ohio, Urge End to Monkey, Dog Experiments

For Immediate Release:
October 1, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

What:             As President Donald Trump heads to Vandalia for a rally on Saturday, PETA’s giant “monkey” representing Beamish, a macaque tormented in brain experiments in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) laboratory, will greet the motorcade with an urgent plea: “President Trump: Close the Monkey and Dog Labs.”

Credit: PETA

Beamish is among the tens of thousands of monkeys imprisoned in NIH-funded laboratories, where they’re often separated from their mothers, confined to barren cages, deprived of food or water to compel their cooperation, and subjected to painful and invasive procedures in which devices are implanted in their skulls and eyes. NIH has also failed to deliver on its promise to cut funding for experiments on dogs who are cut open and killed in U.S. laboratories.

“State-of-the-art, human-relevant research methods can make cruel, outdated experiments on monkeys and dogs obsolete right now,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA calls on President Trump to direct NIH to stop bankrolling cruel and futile experiments on monkeys and dogs immediately.”

Where:           Butler-Vandalia Student Activity Center, 600 S. Dixie Dr., Vandalia. Exact location is subject to security restrictions; media should call to confirm.

When:             Saturday, October 3, 5 p.m.

Interviews will be available remotely.

Why:              For six decades, the NIH-funded national primate research centers have killed hundreds of thousands of monkeys while siphoning billions in federal funding for experiments that consistently fail to deliver safe and effective vaccines or cures. 

                        In 2025, nearly 38,000 dogs were used in experiments in the U.S., while another 4,400 were confined to laboratories awaiting experimentation. Most spent their days in small, barren cages in windowless rooms, deprived of fresh air, sunlight, and the comfort and companionship of a family.

PETA scientists have developed a practical roadmap—Research Modernization NOW—to replace experiments on animals with state-of-the-art, human-relevant research methods.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on or abuse in any other way”—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.

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.