Animal protection groups across Europe are participating in a Week of Action against the trade in monkeys for research from Mauritius, according to Euro Weekly news, Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper.
From December 6 to December 11, more than a dozen European animal groups will be raising awareness among their supporters and the public by holding events and taking part in a social media campaign that will focus attention on the Mauritius government, embassies, and tourism offices across Europe, calling for an end to the Mauritius trade in monkeys for research.
Mauritius is one of the world’s largest exporters of monkeys for the global research and testing industry and the main supplier to Europe, exporting thousands every year.
In 2020, 10,827 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were exported from the country, an increase of 40% from 2019.
Between January and September 2021, 10,810 long-tailed macaques were sent overseas to laboratories, including 1,913 (Spain), 758 (France), 642 (UK), 109 (Netherlands), 112 (Canada) and 7,276 (USA). This represents an increase of over 58% for the
According to Euro Weekly news, around 11,609 experimental procedures took place on non-human primates in the EU in 2017, with France, Germany and the UK being the main users.
Toxicity (or poisoning) testing is carried out on monkeys to assess adverse reactions to drugs (or chemicals), primarily to develop commercial products for humans.
