United States | Lab monkey shortage in America

America has a shortage of lab monkeys

That is bad for biomedical research and encourages smuggling

A long-tailed macaque monkey
No way to treat a fellow primateImage: Alamy

AMERICAN AUTHORITIES arrested Masphal Kry, an official in Cambodia’s forestry administration, last November when he was heading to an international meeting about trade regulations for endangered species in Panama. Prosecutors accused him of conspiring with a smuggling ring. The contraband: monkeys, specifically long-tailed macaques. His gang allegedly grabbed wild macaques in Cambodia’s national parks and bribed officials to label them as captive-bred. Fake papers allowed Vanny Bio Research, a Cambodian pharma company, to ship these unfortunate primates to America for use in research. Mr Kry is facing trial in Florida’s Southern District Court.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Monkeying around”

From the July 8th 2023 edition

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