Primates to meet guinea pigs' fate

Nadja Shanker

Wildlife lovers to protest export of rhesus monkeys to US

Kathmandu, November 17:

Twenty-five rhesus monkeys from Nepal will soon be sent to the United
States, where they will be used as subjects for research on HIV/AIDS
and tuberculosis.

The National Bio-medical Research Centre in Lele, Lalitpur, is
exporting the primates to the US to experiment vaccines for HIV and
TB. The breeding facility of the NBMRC is funded by the US government.

The centre has 210 monkeys and over 100 babies, all born in
captivity. The NBMRC works with the Southwest Foundation for
Biomedical Research in Texas, that has 6,000 monkeys.

The US scientists turned to Nepal for primates after the Indian
government imposed a ban on the experimentation on monkeys due to
reported inhumane treatment against the primates.

Surya Bahadur Pandey, management officer at the Department of
National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, said 200 rhesus monkeys
were caught for the centre in three years.

Mangal Man Shakya, chairman, Wildlife Watch Group, said their
organisation would protest the bid to export the monkeys. "This act
contradicts the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1976,
which prohibits export of monkeys," Shakya added.

He said the government should have consulted the WHO before approving
the export of monkeys. "Breeding should be allowed for the
preservation, not for scientific tests," Shakya said. Rhesus monkeys
are listed on the CITES Appendix II, implying they are on the verge
of becoming an endangered species.

These monkeys are sought for tests, as most of their genes match with
ours. Pandey said the NPWC laws allowed export of animals for
research purpose if prior permission were acquired. "Monkeys born in
the centre are their personal property. We cannot oppose experiments
on them," he added. The government gets Rs 25,000 per monkey as
permission fees.

Prabesh Man Shrestha, director, NBMRC, said the monkeys were taken
into captivity from areas where they were troubling local residents.
"They will not get virus injected in the labs. The scientists will
only analyse their behaviour and genetics," Shrestha maintained,
adding that rhesus monkeys have been used as subjects for scientific
tests for over 70 years.

Dr. Shirley McGreal, OBE, Chairwoman
International Primate Protection League
PO Box 766
Summerville, SC 29484, USA
Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988

E-mail - smcgr...@ippl.org, Web: www.ippl.org
Working to Protect All Primates Since 1973

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly
making exciting discoveries. ~ AA Milne