Help end primate experiments

Every year, hundreds of primates—including macaques, marmosets and baboons—are used in experiments in Australian research facilities.

These animals are subjected to invasive procedures, frequent handling and confinement in small cages, causing significant physical and psychological suffering. Young primates may be separated from their mothers, restrained for procedures, exposed to substances or subjected to surgery. Many procedures are repeated, and most animals are ultimately killed or used in further research.

In Australia, strict protections already apply to great apes such as gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees, which cannot be used in research unless it directly benefits them. However, other primates—despite being highly intelligent and social animals with complex emotional needs—do not receive the same protections. Scientific understanding of their cognitive abilities has grown significantly, raising serious ethical concerns about their continued use in experimentation, particularly as non-animal research methods advance.

It is difficult to know how many animals are used each year, as animal welfare regulation is managed by states and territories and data is not consistently collected or published. However, records show 119 macaques and 74 marmosets were used in research in Victoria in 2023, and 188 baboons in New South Wales in 2022.

We are calling on the Federal Health Minister to update national guidelines so that all primates receive the same ethical protections as great apes.

Your message

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Dear Minister Butler, 

I am writing to express my concern about the use of primates for research in Australian facilities. I ask that the Australian Government strengthen protections for primates used in scientific research, so they are no longer subjected to any invasive procedures or restrictive living conditions.  

In Australia, great apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans cannot be used in research unless it directly benefits them. However, these protections do not extend to other primates, despite growing scientific understanding of their cognitive and social complexity. 

Animal tests are unreliable predictors of human responses to drugs. In fact, approximately 90% of drugs deemed safe and effective in animal tests ultimately fail in human trials, with half of these failures attributed to unforeseen toxic reactions not observed in animal tests. 

In stark contrast, cutting edge non-animal technologies centred around human biology offer a more accurate and humane approach to predicting human responses to drugs. 

I urge you to call on the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to update the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes so that all primates receive the same ethical protections currently given to great apes. Some of the funding from NHMRC grant applications should be directed towards the establishment of a primate retirement sanctuary in Australia, providing a dignified and enriched retirement for Australian primates used in research. An end to the importation of primates into Australia for research purposes should also be imposed with immediate effect. 

I think it is time to prioritise modern animal-free testing methods that benefit both humans and animals because they are proved to be safer, faster, and more reliable for humans, without causing animals to suffer. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Yours sincerely,
{user_data~First name}

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