Tuberculosis epidemic among monkeys in Mauritius: One Voice and its partners are calling for a ban on this international trade!

The tuberculosis (TB) epidemic that is striking currently in a monkey breeding farm in Mauritius is the latest fire started by the global research industry and poisoning tests (sorry: ‘toxicity’ tests). This is added to the numerous other previous ones relating to the capturing and exportation of monkeys destined for laboratories. Any monkey testing positive for tuberculosis in this industrial monkey farm is a sign that there are probably many more, some of which have already been sent to clients, such as the Charles River laboratories in the United States or others in France, Spain, or even the United Kingdom; in other words, all countries that regularly import long-tailed macaques from Mauritius. We, animals rights activists, have been sounding the alarm for years: not only is confining hundreds of monkeys in these overpopulated conditions and contrary to their natural living conditions inhumane, but this inevitably spreads diseases (and thus disrupts research too).

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted between monkeys and humans. Worse, tests are not completely reliable, complicated by false negatives. Due to the severity of the disease and lack of an effective treatment, it is likely that other monkeys, in good health, and those who are kept in the same establishment will be killed along with those whose screening test for tuberculosis is positive. If monkeys are moved between facilities, this would aggravate the problem. We are asking the Mauritian government to stop exporting macaques and our respective governmental agencies to immediately ban the importation of monkeys from Mauritius.

In the last six months alone:

• hundreds of monkeys have been seized by Mauritian authorities after having been captured illegally;
• several American primate importers have been the subject of a Federal American investigation into the origins of imported monkeys,
• long-tailed macaques have been declared to be in danger of extinction,
• and Cambodian responsible parties and nationals have been accused of suspected monkey trafficking.

There is only one solution for this situation: in the interest of public safety and compassion towards monkeys, the international trade of primates for laboratories must stop.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice