animal testing on non-human primates animal testing on non-human primates experiments involving non-human primates (nhps) include toxicity testing for medical and non-medical substances; studies of infectious disease, such as hiv and hepatitis; neurological studies; behavior and cognition; reproduction; genetics; and xenotransplantation. around 65,000 nhps are used every year in the united states, and around 7,000 across the european union. most are purpose-bred, while some are caught in the wild. two primates in a laboratory cage animal testing main articles animal testing alternatives to animal testing animal testing regulations history of animal testing history of model organisms iacuc laboratory animal sources pain and suffering in laboratory animals testing cosmetics on animals toxicology testing vivisection testing on invertebrates frogs primates rabbits rodents issues medical research animal rights · animal welfare animals (scientific procedures) great ape research ban international primate trade cases brown dog affair cambridge university primates pit of despair silver spring monkeys ucr 1985 laboratory raid unnecessary fuss companies jackson laboratory charles river laboratories covance · harlan huntingdon life sciences uk lab animal suppliers nafovanny · shamrock farm groups/campaigns aalas · aaas · alf americans for medical progress boyd group · cruelty free international dr. hadwen trust foundation for biomedical research frame national anti-vivisection society new england anti-vivisection society peta · physicians committee for responsible medicine primate freedom project pro-test speak campaign · shac speaking of research understanding animal research writers/activists tipu aziz michael balls neal d. barnard colin blakemore simon festing gill langley ingrid newkirk bernard rollin jerry vlasak syed ziaur rahman categories animal testing animal rights animal welfare part of a series onanimal rights overview animal welfare around the world history timeline animal cruelty veganism vegetarianism primate rights in research movement advocates vegans vegetarians groups animal abuse animal–industrial complex killing mutilation wild animals consumption dogs horses cats cattle bloodsports bullfighting hunting fishing animal testing cosmetic captivity zoos circuses oceanariums companion animals puppy mills abandonment ideas abolitionism animal protectionism carnism personism sentiocentrism speciesism related topics cultured meat environmentalism radical deep ecology humanism welfarism animals portal their use is controversial. according to the nuffield council on bioethics, nhps are used because their brains share structural and functional features with human brains, but "while this similarity has scientific advantages, it poses some difficult ethical problems, because of an increased likelihood that primates experience pain and suffering in ways that are similar to humans." some of the most publicized attacks on animal research facilities by animal rights groups have occurred because of primate research. some primate researchers have abandoned their studies because of threats or attacks. in december 2006, an inquiry chaired by sir david weatherall, emeritus professor of medicine at oxford university, concluded that there is a "strong scientific and moral case" for using primates in some research. the british union for the abolition of vivisection argues that the weatherall report failed to address "the welfare needs and moral case for subjecting these sensitive, intelligent creatures to a lifetime of suffering in uk labs". legal status further information: great ape research ban human beings are recognized as persons and protected in law by the united nations universal declaration of human rights and by all governments to varying degrees. non-human primates are not classified as persons in most jurisdictions, which largely means their individual interests have no formal recognition or protection. the status of non-human primates has generated much debate, particularly through the great ape project (gap), which argues that great apes (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos) should be given limited legal status and the protection of three basic interests: the right to live, the protection of individual liberty, and the prohibition of torture. in 1997, the united kingdom announced a policy of no longer granting licenses for research involving great apes, the first ever measure to ban primate use in research. announcing the uk’s ban, the british home secretary said: "his is a matter of morality. the cognitive and behavioural characteristics and qualities of these animals mean it is unethical to treat them as expendable for research." britain continues to use other primates in laboratories, such as macaques and marmosets. in 2006 the permanency of the uk ban was questioned by colin blakemore, head of the medical research council. blakemore, while stressing he saw no "immediate need" to lift the ban, argued "that under certain circumstances, such as the emergence of a lethal pandemic virus that only affected the great apes, including man, then experiments on chimps, orang-utans and even gorillas may become necessary." the british union for the abolition of vivisection described blakemore's stance as "backward-looking." in 1999, new zealand was the first country to ban experimentation on great apes by law. on june 25, 2008, spain became the first country to announce that it will extend rights to the great apes in accordance with gap's proposals. an all-party parliamentary group advised the government to write legislation giving chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans the right to life, to liberty, and the right not to be used in experiments. the new york times reported that the legislation will make it illegal to kill apes, except in self-defense. torture, which will include medical experiments, will be not allowed, as will arbitrary imprisonment, such as for circuses or films. an increasing number of other governments are enacting bans. as of 2006, austria, new zealand (restrictions on great apes only and not a complete ban), the netherlands, sweden, and the united kingdom had introduced either de jure or de facto bans. the ban in sweden does not extend to non-invasive behavioral studies, and graduate work on great ape cognition in sweden continues to be carried out on zoo gorillas, and supplemented by studies of chimpanzees held in the u.s. sweden's legislation also bans invasive experiments on gibbons. in december 2005, austria outlawed experiments on any apes, unless it is conducted in the interests of the individual animal. in 2002, belgium announced that it was working toward a ban on all primate use, and in the uk, 103 mps signed an early day motion calling for an end to primate experiments, arguing that they cause suffering and are unreliable. no licenses for research on great apes have been issued in the uk since 1998. the boyd group, a british group comprising animal researchers, philosophers, primatologists, and animal advocates, has recommended a global prohibition on the use of great apes. the use of non-human primates in the eu is regulated under the directive 2010/63/eu. the directive took effect on january 1, 2013. the directive permits the use of non-human primates if no other alternative methods are available. testing on non-human primates is permitted for basic and applied research, quality and safety testing of drugs, food and other products and research aimed on the preservation of the species. the use of great apes is generally not permitted, unless it is believed that the actions are essential to preserve the species or in relation to an unexpected outbreak of a life-threatening or debilitating clinical condition in human beings. the directive stresses the use of the 3r principle (replacement, refinement, reduction) and animal welfare when conducting animal testing on non-human primates. a 2013 amendment to the german animal welfare act, with special regulations for monkeys, resulted in a near total ban on the use of great apes as laboratory animals. the last time great apes were used in laboratory experiments in germany was 1991. species and numbers used covance primate-testing lab, vienna, virginia, 2004–05 most of the nhps used are one of three species of macaques, accounting for 79% of all primates used in research in the uk, and 63% of all federally funded research grants for projects using primates in the u.s. lesser numbers of marmosets, tamarins, spider monkeys, owl monkeys, vervet monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and baboons are used in the uk and the u.s. great apes have not been used in the uk since a government policy ban in 1998. in the u.s., research laboratories employ the use of 1,133 chimpanzees as of october 2006. data reported by region countrytotalreporting yearprocedures/animals austria02017procedures belgium402016procedures bulgaria02017procedures canada75562016animals croatia02016procedures cyprus02016procedures czech republic362017animals denmark02016procedures estonia02016procedures finland02016procedures france35082016procedures germany24182016procedures greece32016procedures hungary02016procedures ireland02016procedures israel352017animals italy5112016procedures latvia02016procedures lithuania02015procedures luxembourg02017animals malta02016procedures netherlands1202016procedures new zealand02015animals poland02016procedures portugal02014procedures romania02015procedures slovakia02017procedures slovenia02016procedures spain2282016procedures south korea24032017animals sweden382016procedures switzerland1812017animals united kingdom29602017procedures united states711882016animals most primates are purpose-bred, while some are caught in the wild. in 2011 in the eu, 0.05% of animals used in animal testing procedures were non-human primates. in 1996, the british animal procedures committee recommended new measures for dealing with nhps. the use of wild-caught primates was banned, except where "exceptional and specific justification can be established"; specific justification must be made for the use of old world primates (but not for the use of new world primates); approval for the acquisition of primates from overseas is conditional upon their breeding or supply center being acceptable to the home office; and each batch of primates acquired from overseas must be separately authorized. prevalence there are indications that nhp use is on the rise in some countries, in part because biomedical research funds in the u.s. have more than doubled since the 1990s. in 2000, the nih published a report recommending that the regional primate research center system be renamed the national primate research center system and calling for an increase in the number of nhps available to researchers, and stated that "nonhuman primates are crucial for certain types of biomedical and behavioral research." this assertion has been challenged. in the u.s., the oregon and california national primate research centers and new iberia research center have expanded their facilities. in 2000 the national institutes of health (nih) invited applications for the establishment of new breeding specific pathogen free colonies; and a new breeding colony projected to house 3,000 nhps has been set up in florida. the nih's national center for research resources claimed a need to increase the number of breeding colonies in its 2004–2008 strategic plan, as well as to set up a database, using information provided through a network of national primate research centers, to allow researchers to locate nhps with particular characteristics. china is also increasing its nhp use, and is regarded as attractive to western companies because of the low cost of research, the relatively lax regulations and the increase in animal-rights activism in the west. in 2013, british home office figures show that the number of primates used in the uk was at 2,440, down 32% from 3,604 nhps in 1993. over the same time period, the number of procedures involving nhps fell 29% from 4,994 from to 3,569 procedures. sources the american society of primatologists writes that most nhps in laboratories in the united states are bred domestically. between 12,000–15,000 are imported each year, specifically rhesus macaque monkeys, cynomolgus (crab-eating) macaque monkeys, squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys, and baboons. monkeys are imported from china, mauritius, the philippines, and peru. china exported over 12,000 macaques for research in 2001 (4,500 to the u.s.), all from self-sustaining purpose-bred colonies. the second largest source is mauritius, from which 3,440 purpose-bred cynomolgus macaques were exported to the u.s. in 2001. in europe, an estimated 70% of research primates are imported, and the rest are purpose-bred in europe. around 74% of these imports come from china, with most of the rest coming from mauritius. use general nhps are used in research into hiv, neurology, behavior, cognition, reproduction, parkinson's disease, stroke, malaria, respiratory viruses, infectious disease, genetics, xenotransplantation, drug abuse, and also in vaccine and drug testing. according to the humane society of the united states, chimpanzees are most often used in hepatitis research, and monkeys in siv research. animals used in hepatitis and siv studies are often caged alone. eighty-two percent of primate procedures in the uk in 2006 were in applied studies, which the home office defines as research conducted for the purpose of developing or testing commercial products. toxicology testing is the largest use, which includes legislatively required testing of drugs. the second largest category of research using primates is "protection of man, animals, or environment", accounting for 8.9% of all procedures in 2006. the third largest category is "fundamental biological research", accounting for 4.9% of all uk primate procedures in 2006. this includes neuroscientific study of the visual system, cognition, and diseases such as parkinson's, involving techniques such as inserting electrodes to record from or stimulate