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Good Science Digest

Find out what Physicians Committee scientists have to say about the latest obstacles and advances in replacing animal use with human-relevant methods in research, testing, and education.

  1. Good Science Digest

  2. Mar 14, 2025
Monkeys Don’t Make Sense: Availability of Better Methods Means It’s Time for the NIH to Phase Out Primate Experiments

More than 100,000 nonhuman primates, including baboons, macaques, marmosets, and other monkeys, are held or used for research purposes in the United States each year. Many of these animals are used in research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which spends hundreds of millions of dollars bankrolling the National Primate Research Centers. The perception of nonhuman primates and their questionable effectiveness and sustainability when used in research is shifting, bringing us closer than ever to replacing these animals with more effective nonanimal methods.