AR-News: (US-ca)Monkeys for Research: Much Coveted, and Hard to Come By

[Animalconcerns]

DAVIS, Calif. — A swath of abandoned cropland surrounded by freeways and
freight tracks would seem an unlikely place to breed exotic monkeys, let
alone unravel a medical mystery. But 20 years ago, researchers here at the
California National Primate Research Center were the first to realize that
an infection killing their colony of rhesus macaque monkeys mirrored the
new human disorder known as AIDS.

The discovery was hailed as a research milestone. And it touched off a
demand for rhesus monkeys that has continued to this day, as scientists
turn to them to study SARS, Ebola and biochemical threats like anthrax and
ricin.

But the supply is no longer keeping pace with the demand. A ban on
exporting monkeys from India, widespread destruction of their habitat in
other countries, and inadequate breeding efforts in the United States have
kept the numbers down. Today, scientists say, a severe shortage of
research monkeys is threatening medical progress.

"Requests for rhesus monkeys have far outstripped supply for the last five
to six years," said Dr. Nicholas Lerche, associate director of the
California center, one of eight primate centers supported by the National
Institutes of Health. "AIDS was the first wake-up call. Biodefense
research is going to further the demand."
...
On a recent afternoon here, Dr. Lerche strolled the back lot of what he
calls the monkey farm. Roughly half of the Davis monkeys live outdoors in
half-acre corrals with swings, sun decks, toys and shiny mirrors to keep
them amused.

Animal rights advocates paint a much darker picture, arguing that many
animals are put through needless suffering and that enforcement of the
federal Animal Welfare Act, intended to protect animals from inhumane
treatment, is lax. The primate centers reply that labs are accredited and
built to legal standards, that they are subject to unannounced inspections
and that veterinarians are on site to treat the animals.

The habitat renovation at Davis will add seven corrals at a cost of
$100,000 each, expanding the capacity to 5,000. The project will take two
years, Dr. Lerche said, but in the end Davis will be able to breed enough
monkeys to share with other centers.

Still, officials do not know how many monkeys it will take to meet the
demand. The Animal Welfare Act, import regulations and federal laws
regulating medical research allow the government to track the animals used
in public research. But pharmaceutical and biotech companies, most of them
with in-house monkey colonies, are not required to share information. 

full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/06/science/06MONK.html?ex=1081828800&en=6d3d89cec2ac4103&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

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