Tormented ‘Monkey’ at White House Correspondents’ Dinner Urges Closure of Primate Labs

For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

PETA’s giant ”monkey” representing Beamish, a monkey imprisoned and abused by National Institutes of Health (NIH) experimenters, will share the message “Save $Millions$ Close National Monkey Labs” outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, urging officials to end waste and abuse by cutting funding to the seven National Primate Research Centers.

Over the past six decades, the primate centers have killed hundreds of thousands of monkeys while siphoning billions of taxpayer dollars for experiments, but failing to deliver promised vaccines or cures for deadly human diseases. PETA scientists have developed a practical roadmap—Research Modernization Now—to phase out experiments on animals and implement modern, human-relevant research methods.

“The National Primate Research Centers imprison, torment, and kill monkeys while gobbling billions of tax dollars for pointless experiments,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA urges officials to redirect taxpayer funds to cutting-edge, non-animal research that could produce treatments and cures for humans.”

Where:           Outside the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C.

When:            Saturday, April 26,5:30 p.m.

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.