The US is using more monkeys than ever before

All the time the entry counts has reached the number monkeys used in the US as experimental animals biomedical research.

According to data from the competent Ministry of Agriculture, it was used by American scientists in 2017 75,825 primates (monkeys and monkeys), By 22% more than in 2015 and by 6% more than in 2008.

In the last decade, however, the number of dogs, cats, rabbits and other small animals used as a test animal has decreased. Monkeys and monkeys account for only 0.5% of total US experimental animals, most of which (about 95%) are mice and rats but lacking precise statistics, according to the "Science"

Scientists believe that primates that are as useful as rodents are even more valuable, because they are more closely related to humans, so it is better to check the medicine and new therapies – a big disappointment for loved ones. This trend is reinforced by National Health Institutes, the main sponsor of biomedical research in the United States.

The biomedical community has announced it is committed to reducing the use of large animals in research, but it seems to be the opposite. In 2015, National Institutes of Health ceased to support all invasive chimps, but monkey research resided and ruled.

Public opinion is increasingly concerned about animal studies. According to the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans disagree with the use of large experimental animals. On the other hand, most US airlines now refuse to transport imported monkeys to experimental animals.

The total number of monkeys in American laboratories is estimated at around 110,000 (not all of them experimentally every year), of which almost two thirds are rice macaques, 15% other macaque species, 6% baboons and other species. Rheumatoid macules are increasingly busy in research on HIV / AIDS, the brain, Alzheimer's disease, addiction and others.

Animal welfare organizations speak with the US Congress to stop the study of monkeys, but on the other hand, scientists and pharmaceutical companies complain that they will not be able to properly carry out their work. And the tug will continue …