Activists Rattle the Cages for Monkeys and other 
Animals at OHSU’s Primate Center

Portland, OR - Members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) and other concerned citizens will raise awareness with banners and signs during rush hour traffic on behalf of non-human primates suffering in the Oregon Health & Science University laboratories. This effort is just one of many IDA outreach events this week in observation of World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL), an international week of action against animal experiments:

When: Tuesday, April 26, from 4:30 pm until 6:00 pm
Where: OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center, 505 NW 185th St., Beaverton, OR

Hundreds of concerned Oregonians have appealed to OHSU’s President, Peter Kohler, to terminate experiments on monkeys and other animals. Monkeys in OHSU’s labs endure horrible conditions during the experiments while researchers painfully shock male monkeys’ penises for semen samples; forcibly remove infant monkeys from their mothers, leading to abnormal adult behavior including hair pulling, feces eating, infant abuse, and self mutilation; and forcibly addict monkeys to nicotine, cocaine, and other drugs.

Ample evidence supports that animal models are poor representations of human pathologies. A dog’s heart is different from a human’s heart both anatomically and at the cellular level. A history of failed tests wastes not only money but animal lives and further substantiates that clinical and epidemiological observations, surgical and procedural results, autopsies, and human studies involving cardiac imaging and electrophysiological tests are more reliable sources of information.

More than 3,700 primates are currently imprisoned in OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center, which marks an increase of 1/3 of their total primate census in less than five years.

Recent news reports around the globe are shedding light on the unreliability of animal experiments. In February, scientific director of Europeans for Medical Progress, Dr. Jarrod Bailey called for an end to “archaic” animal experiments which have either harmed humans or set research back by decades. 

“Studies done on chimpanzees, our closest biological relative, have failed to identify the risks of cigarette smoking and failed to produce a single case of AIDS,” says Dr. Elliot M. Katz, DVM. “Researchers acknowledge that there are no good models for such studies, yet go to great lengths to create artificial conditions which are convenient, rather than accurate. That is scientific fraud.”

WWAIL is an annual week of events to arouse concern for animals in laboratories and educate the public about the scientific, moral, and economic objections to animal experimentation. Activists across the country join Oregon animal advocates in organizing protests, vigils, and other educational outreach events. For more information please visit wwail.org.