Photo Op: PETA ‘Monkey’ to Greet Trump Motorcade, Urge End to Cruel Monkey, Dog Experiments
For Immediate Release:
September 21, 2026
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
What: As President Donald Trump crisscrosses Manhattan for the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, PETA’s giant “monkey” representing Beamish, a macaque tormented in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) laboratory, will greet the motorcade with an unmistakable plea: “President Trump: Close the Monkey and Dog Labs.”
Credit: PETA
Beamish is among the more than tens of thousands of monkeys imprisoned in NIH-funded laboratories, where they’re 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“State-of-the-art, human-relevant research methods can make cruel, outdated experiments on monkeys and dogs obsolete right now,” says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Dr. Alka Chandna. “PETA calls on President Trump to stop bankrolling cruel and futile experiments on monkeys and dogs immediately.”
Where: Near the Lotte New York Palace, 455 Madison Ave., near East 51st St., New York. Exact location is subject to security restrictions; media should call to confirm.
When: Wednesday, September 23, 6 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 of taxpayer dollars 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.
