Disturbing video of infant monkeys at UW lab reignites debate over primate research

Disturbing video of infant monkeys inside a University of Washington research lab is reigniting the debate over animal testing. A warning to viewers that it may be upsetting for some to watch. The video was released by PETA, which says the images show why primate research should end. UW says the studies shown in the video stopped years ago and argues that research like this has provided important information about risks to human health. Baby macaques, some just days old, on lab tables. Their heads shaved, electrodes attached to their bodies, as researchers test their development. The video was recorded years ago, but released this week by PETA after the group obtained it through a public records request. It doesn't really matter that these experiments happened six years ago because experiments with infant newborn macaques continue to occur and to happen at the University of Washington. Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel is PETA's chief science advisor on primate issues and a former UW primate scientist. She says the public should see what research using monkeys can involve. We want people to see these monkeys for who they are, to understand what this experimentation means to these animals. UW doesn't dispute that the video is disturbing. Dr. Sally Thompson-Iritani is UW's assistant vice provost for animal care. First, let me ask you, have you seen the video that PETA put out? And if so, what is your reaction? Because to the general public, it looks like animal cruelty. I do understand the reaction that people are feeling. And I do think that it is hard to watch. So I don't want to minimize that in any fashion. She says she has watched the video several times, but argues it doesn't show the scientific purpose of the study. The research examined what could happen to developing offspring when a pregnant mother was exposed to substances like methylmercury or domoic acid. Some of these effects with low-level exposure to these contaminants, you might not see even at birth. They sometimes show up later in development. U-Dub says that research can help scientists better understand what levels of exposure may be dangerous during human pregnancy. PETA argues science now has better ways to answer those questions. We don't need to rely upon an infant monkey taken from their mother and experimented on to tell us how drugs and treatments can improve human health. The specific neurotoxin experiments shown in the video have ended. Thompson-Iritani says UW has more recently used primates for infectious disease research, but says there is not a current study of that kind underway at the facility. PETA claims every monkey involved in the experiments is eventually killed. Is that accurate? And if so, why were they euthanized instead of taken to a sanctuary? The primary reason that the animals are usually euthanized at the end of these experiments is that we need to collect the tissues because there are several questions that we can't answer when we're looking at the animals during their lifespan. The larger debate is whether science still needs monkeys at all. The federal government is increasing its investment in alternatives, including organoids, human tissue models, and computer modeling. PETA says those tools should replace primate research. UW says they are promising, but cannot yet answer every scientific question. Saying that we're going to be able to do something like this overnight, and we're going to not have to rely on animal models anymore is not realistic. But saying that we are evaluating how we can incorporate these new emerging technologies into our systems, into our biological questions, is something that we are extremely dedicated to doing. Earlier this year, UW renamed its primate center the Washington National Biomedical Research Center. PETA calls that rebranding. UW says it reflects a broader mission that includes new non-animal research methods while still using primates when scientists believe they are necessary. There is good science to be done now, but not if you're relying upon the monkey to stay in the middle to be somehow this translator for what's happening in humans. Hugh Dove says there is no plan to abruptly end all animal research, but says it is committed to reducing or replacing animal use when other methods can answer the same questions.