A vote this week by Oregon Health and Science University’s leaders to begin negotiations to close the Oregon National Primate Research Center and potentially turn it into a sanctuary marks a pivotal moment for animals used in biomedical research.

The Oregon National Primate Research Center (OPRC) is the oldest and largest of seven federally funded National Primate Research Centers in the U.S., housing approximately 5,000 nonhuman primates who are confined, bred, experimented on and killed largely at taxpayer expense.

ONPRC has long been in the crosshairs of animal advocacy organizations that have raised concerns about the ethics of using primates and their mistreatment there, which has been exposed through multiple investigations, whistleblowers and public records that show dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act over the years — 31 between 2014 and 2022 — that have highlighted problems with sanitation, veterinary care, staff training, failing to provide for well-being and multiple primate deaths that could have been prevented.

Footage of monkeys in severe psychological distress was captured at ONPRC by In Defense of Animals in the early 2000s. In 2005, In Defense of Animals won a landmark lawsuit that forced the university to open its books, preventing it from using exorbitant fees to hide its activities from the public.

Sadly, at least 17 primates have since died from negligence between 2005 and 2020. In 2020, two primates died after being left in a cage-washing machine, which resulted in staff members circulating a petition that cited a “dangerous” workplace culture that led to the deaths and would lead to more. In 2023, a baby macaque was separated from their mother during an attempted capture and crushed by a sliding door, resulting in euthanasia.  

The treatment of these primates is as heartbreaking as the experiments are pointless. Millions of dollars have been wasted on cruel research that could have been studied in humans, at least some of which has resulted in federal complaints filed in recent years, including by PETA and the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).

Last year, PCRM filed complaints with OHSU, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to shut down a study funded with $525,000 through 2027 to give male macaques THC, restrain them, and electrojaculate them to see how its use affects male fertility — one of many harmful studies that do nothing to promote human health. We don’t need to be drugging primates, getting them drunk, depriving them of healthy food, keeping them in unnatural conditions, or tearing babies from their mothers in the name of science.

However, decades of suffering could soon come to an end. On Monday, OHSU’s board of directors voted to pass a resolution that would allow President Dr. Shereef Elnahal to begin negotiating with the NIH, its primary funder, over the next six months about the possibility of converting ONPRC into a sanctuary and exploring available funding. It also halts more breeding, “where feasible,” during the negotiation period.

While the vote doesn’t guarantee the transition to sanctuary, there is a lot of support for change and accountability. Last summer, the state lawmakers passed a budget note requiring the university to review the financial viability of the ONPRC and its closure if funding fell by 25% following concerns it would dwindle under the Trump administration, which has committed to reducing and eliminating animal testing across federal agencies. Gov. Tina Kotek has also expressed a desire to see it shut down.

Federal funding could be the key to a sanctuary ending for these long-suffering primates, but the NIH did update its grant policy last year to allow recipients to retire and rehome research animals.

Growing scrutiny over cruel and wasteful experiments and increasing availability of alternatives, such as lab-grown human tissues and advanced computer modeling that promote human-relevant science, point to the need to end research on animals.

We submitted a public comment, attended the meeting, and thank everyone who spoke passionately about ending primate research at ONPRC. We will continue to support the shift to sanctuary, so stay tuned for more updates. In the meantime, check out our Vivisection campaign for more ways to help animals in labs.