Shortage of experimental non-human primates

Animals caught in the wild are the major source of supply for medical experiments, but their availability has decreased in recent years, partly due to export restrictions but also because of a ban in certain countries on the importation of monkeys to be kept as pets. The shortage of monkeys for biomedical purposes could lead to a lowering of safety standards for drugs and vaccines, while much medical research could be severely handicapped.

About 85,000 primates a year are used in biomedical programmes, including 80% of Asian or African species (mostly Rhesus monkeys) and 20% from the Americas. Although reports from countries on wild monkey populations are based on impressions rather than survey data, there is a general tendency for populations to decrease as their natural habitats are destroyed.