The risk of lab experiments on animals extends to people, too

I’m a wildlife veterinarian specializing in monkeys, so I know there are ways to prevent the recent incident in Mississippi where eight monkeys escaped during transport from a research lab in New Orleans.

Five of the monkeys were killed by authorities, two others were shot dead by members of the public and only one was recovered alive.

This was not an isolated incident. Over the past two decades, there have been at least 15 publicly reported monkey escapes in transit and directly from labs.

Earlier this year, the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California – Davis was cited by the USDA after a monkey was severely injured from a malfunctioning cage closure.

These incidents demonstrate a pattern of incompetence that harms monkeys and illustrates the risks