Updates: Campaign to Shut Down Oregon National Primate Research Center
The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) imprisons more than 5,000 monkeys and wastes more than $50 million a year in taxpayer funding, tormenting them in cruel, useless, and deadly tests. Experimenters at the violation-plagued center have torn infant monkeys from their mothers to cause psychological damage and starved monkeys so they’ll “voluntarily” consume alcohol, before killing them. Others impregnated monkeys and exposed them to dangerous levels of nicotine to cause birth defects in their babies before killing and dissecting them.
Please take action today to urge Oregon Health & Science University, which houses the primate prison, to shut down the cruel and pointless ONPRC.
PETA Uncovers ONPRC’s Shady Dealings in the Sunshine State
September 8, 2025
PETA has discovered that the Oregon National Primate Research Center recently trucked 12 monkeys more than 3,200 miles from a monkey importer in Florida to its west coast facility, despite already imprisoning more than 4,000 monkeys not yet being experimented on. We’re asking the university to investigate why the primate center is apparently purchasing monkeys when it receives millions from taxpayers to breed monkeys on-site.
PETA’s letter also questions what measures the university is taking to stop the spread of tuberculosis to its resident monkeys, given that the Sunshine State company imports animals from Mauritius, where tuberculosis outbreaks in monkeys are well-documented. ONPRC’s own experimenter admitted in 2019 that TB-infected monkeys “cost hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage” due to compromising his experiment and rendering the monkeys unusable for any research. Please take action today to help shut this torture center down.
ONPRC Experimenter Loses Funding Opportunity to Sicken Monkeys
July 9, 2025
A federal funding opportunity bankrolling an ONPRC experimenter was withdrawn following the National Institutes of Health’s announcement that the agency would no longer issue funding opportunities for tests that only involve experiments on animals. ONPRC’s experiment received more than $200,000 in 2024 to supposedly study HIV in monkeys, a disease they cannot contract.
Huge Progress! Lawmakers Say ONPRC Must Meet Terms or Close
June 30, 2025
PETA’s campaign netted a significant and historic win that ensures the ONPRC can’t use state money to run its laboratory. The Oregon Legislature passed a measure requiring that the center provide a plan to close by 2026 if it receives or uses any state money, or if the National Institutes of Health slashes its funding by 25 percent of 2024 levels.
This marks the first time lawmakers have conditioned the primate center in the state’s budget. The move comes after hundreds of PETA supporters contacted their state representatives, urging them to shut down the primate center, and dozens of Oregonians spoke against the facility at a recent legislative hearing.
Whistleblower Alleges Animal-Abuse Cover-Up at ONPRC, PETA Asks Feds to Investigate
June 27, 2025
PETA urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate credible whistleblower reports that ONPRC senior leaders are telling staff to stop documenting animal injuries and other conditions that might run afoul of federal law. The instructions reportedly began when the primate center came under public and legislative scrutiny months ago.
The whistleblowers say that ONPRC’s monkeys frequently escape from their enclosures and fight with other stressed animals, causing traumatic injuries. But staff were reportedly told not to record these injuries, escapes, and monkey deaths, or use vague language to downplay their severity. Without proper documentation, sick and injured monkeys reportedly suffered without timely veterinary care.
ONPRC Staff Lose Access to Key Medical Care for Monkey Injuries, Disease Exposure
June 12, 2025
Local newspaper Willamette Week revealed that workers bitten or scratched by monkeys at ONPRC lost access to same-day emergency medical treatment at the nearby St. Vincent Medical Center. This decision leaves workers exposed to dangerous diseases carried by primate center monkeys, including herpes B, tuberculosis, MRSA, diphtheria, campylobacteriosis, and shigella.
Legislators Heed PETA’s Calls, Introduce Bill to End Monkey Experiments
May 29, 2025
Three Oregon House of Representatives members, David Gomberg (D-Otis), Farrah Chaichi (D-Beaverton), and Mark Gamba (D-Milwaukie), introduced House Bill 3978, which would prohibit experiments on monkeys at ONPRC beginning on May 1, 2029. Willamette Week covered the bill.
PETA Exhibit Shows Oregon Legislators the Cruelty ONPRC Tries to Hide
May 19-22, 2025
PETA brought the eye-opening “How the Other Half Lives” installation to the Oregon State Capitol, giving legislators and passersby a look inside the harrowing conditions monkeys suffer in laboratories including ONPRC.
Dozens Rally for Primate Center Closure at Oregon State Capitol
May 13, 2025
PETA and dozens of concerned Oregonians attended an Oregon Legislature hearing for Senate Bill 181, which would limit state-funded experiments on dogs and cats, urging lawmakers to include an amendment that shuts down the ONPRC.
The monkey-defenders join the 20,000 Oregonians who have signed a petition calling for the closure of ONPRC and tens of thousands of others who have spoken out on social media. Willamette Week covered the flurry of actions.
PETA’s Campaign Ramps Up While OHSU Scrambles to Rebut Critics
May 1, 2025
Local daily newspaper Willamette Week covered Oregon Health & Science University’s attempts to defend its failing primate center from its numerous critics. PETA and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine “have been bombarding OHSU with television ads and letter-writing campaigns, urging regulators to require closure of the primate center before granting OHSU permission to buy Legacy Health,” the article said.
PETA’s Binoculars Make Waves During Three-Day Stint on Portland’s Waterfront
April 30 – May 2, 2025
PETA’s “How the Other Half Lives” installation popped up on the banks of Portland’s busy Willamette River, sparking talks with overwhelmingly supportive Oregonians and visitors who asked how they can take action to shut down the cruel ONPRC.
A civil engineer said that the exhibit was “the most compelling case against animal testing [he’d] ever seen.”
PETA’s Giant Binoculars Give Public a Rare Look Inside Secretive Primate Center
April 28–29, 2025
PETA unveiled “How the Other Half Lives” in front of Oregon Health & Science University’s library, giving students, faculty, and all other passersby a glimpse into what monkeys endure at ONPRC. The eye-catching installation features a 7.5-foot-tall pair of binoculars that contrast footage of macaques thriving in their natural habitats with the gruesome conditions of those trapped in laboratories. Oregon newspaper Willamette Week covered the display.
PETA Pushes for Federal Probe After Primate Prison Violates Animal Welfare Law
April 17, 2025
PETA urged the National Institutes of Health to investigate Oregon Health & Science University after ONPRC was cited for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. In one, a young Japanese macaque died of sepsis after staff ignored her symptoms and failed to provide medical care. In another, dozens of Japanese macaques were confined for nearly 100 hours in cages that were too small, and others were living in rusty, filthy, and ramshackle cages.
PETA’s Overpass Display Illuminates Primate Prison’s Cruelty
April 4–6, 2025
PETA lit up Portland’s busy I-5 freeway, showing thousands of weekend drivers the neon message, “CLOSE OHSU MONKEY LAB.” The searing sign was unveiled mere days before a local review board finalized its recommendation on Oregon Health & Science University’s $8 billion proposed merger with Legacy Health and supported the demand of more than 10,000 Oregonians who urged the board to condition the merger on ONPRC’s closure.
Also, posters plastered around downtown Portland and near Oregon Health & Science University’s campus called for the primate center’s closure.
ONPRC by the Numbers: Oregon Newspaper Exposes Monkey Lives and Money Wasted
April 1, 2025
A comprehensive report by the newspaper Willamette Week illustrated how many monkeys are subjected to cruel experiments at ONPRC and how much money the facility wastes.
Oregon Governor Says Primate Prison Should Close
March 28, 2025
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek joined the call to shut down Oregon Health & Science University’s primate prison. “OHSU should figure out how to close its primate research center, just like Harvard University did ten years ago,” Kotek said. The development was covered by Oregon Live and Willamette Week.
PETA Exposes Dangerous Diseases and Incompetent Staff at ONPRC
March 25, 2025
In a letter to the Oregon Health Authority, PETA exposed ONPRC for failing to protect its staff and prevent the spread of pathogens carried by the monkeys it imprisons, including the highly dangerous tuberculosis and antibiotic-resistant staph infections.
PETA’s letter cited public records showing a long history of careless handling, inadequate veterinary care, and workers drinking alcohol on the job at ONPRC. The center also requested special exemptions for sanitizing monkeys’ cages only half as often as legally required during a period of short staffing. All problems that increase the risk of zoonotic transmission.
PETA’s Campaign to Shut Down Oregon’s Primate Center Grabs Headlines
March 10, 2025
PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s efforts to convince the Oregon Health Authority to make closing ONPRC a condition of Oregon Health & Science University’s planned merger with Legacy Health were covered by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
