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The use of monkeys in European research has been steadily declining. For instance, approximately 6,000 were used in scientific procedures in the European Union (EU) in 2011, compared with nearly 10,000 in 2008—counting both academic and industrial research. Most recently, a UK government report noted the number of primate experiments had fallen for the third consecutive year.
Researchers suspect that a combination of increasing regulatory pressure, rising costs, and mounting disapproval among the public are responsible. Some countries, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, have even taken political measures to deliberately scale back on primate research.
China recognizes that it’s going to be a leader in primate research and I have no doubt that that’s going to be true.
“The consequence of this is [the risk] that a lot of this research will move abroad,” says Stefan Treue, director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the ...
