Outsourcing of Primate Research Puts Animal Welfare in Question

By Stephanie Edwards

In response to the high cost of buying and using monkeys for animal research in the United States, some researchers are looking abroad for a cheaper option. Unfortunately, many of the countries where scientists can buy and use animals at a lower cost also have lower standards of care and use for research animals and for research facility design.

China, where monkeys can be purchased for one-tenth to one-fifth of U.S. prices, is one of the growing venues for outsourced animal research. The increase has prompted concerns that research facilities in China will not meet international standards for animal health and welfare, which are seen by animal advocates as minimal.

Currently, researchers seeking to use monkeys in China for U.S.-government funded research must first ensure that China's primate centers meet U.S. government standards as defined by the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Some China-based primate centers have negotiated with National Institutes of Health, the agency that oversees compliance with the Public Health Service policy, to sign a statement saying they will meet the standards.

Earlier this year, representatives of several pharmaceutical companies visited China in search of monkeys for research. Drug companies are not required to meet Public Health Service standards (except when they receive funding from the service), but given consumer pressure regarding animal welfare, they should pursue high standards of care. 

John Reid, of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, a recent visitor to Chinese primate centers, explained to Nature Medicine in March that it "will take a while before Chinese facilities and the situation in China improve to a point where people feel comfortable with it. Overall, none of them currently meet the international standards, and that's going to be a big issue in getting them up to quality." Reid also noted that global concern over animal welfare, if not handled properly, is a big enough force to negatively impact pharmaceutical sales.

At the university level, China-based researchers are also feeling the pressure to consider animal welfare in gaining international credibility for their research programs. China Daily and the Xinhau News reported that in June Fudan University established an ethics committee in the interest of laboratory animal welfare. Its head, Chen Nengneng, explained that the committee looks to oversee the ethical treatment of laboratory animals, and that it was established after international publications authored by Fudan University professors and students were turned down because the lack of consideration for laboratory animal welfare, according to Chinese Xinhua News Agency and the China Internet Information Center.  

Despite these potentially positive steps for research animals, big questions remain: How will the National Institutes of Health ensure that oversees projects receiving U.S. government funding are actually meeting Public Health Service standards? And will U.S. taxpayers be the ones paying for this oversight? It seems that in the case of research outsourcing, the biggest losers will be the animals and taxpayers.  

Stephanie Edwards is the outreach coordinator for Animal Research Issues for The HSUS.