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A Physicians Committee Update on Ending Monkey Experiments
Thanks to your support, the Physicians Committee is headed into 2026 with the resources we need to tackle the toughest challenges, including closing down more animal experiments. Your actions and support—especially over the past year—have brought us closer than ever to shutting down monkey experiments at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU).
Closing the Oregon National Primate Research Center
As you will remember, our campaign to close down Harvard’s primate research center succeeded because we exposed the animal care violations and cruelty of the experiments, and we were able to show better ways to do research. Well, the same elements apply in Oregon.
In March 2025, the Physicians Committee began a relentless media campaign, urging OHSU to close the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Our hard-hitting media-saturation campaign exposed the center’s Animal Welfare Act violations and unethical experiments in which animals were dosed with alcohol and drugs and were killed to examine the effects on their bodies. We provided public testimony, lobbied the legislature, and met with political leaders. PCRM members flooded Oregon officials with petitions to close the laboratory. We ran state and national surveys to show that the public is against primate experiments. We worked with the press in interviews, commentaries, and social media. As a result, we have been heartened to see the Governor and legislators come out strongly for closing the facility. We also filed an official complaint with the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, and directly with OHSU.
Our experts also work to show a better research path and are working with NIH to build the strongest possible support for shifting to nonanimal methods. We are working every day, both in public and behind the scenes, to make that happen.
Thank you in advance for continuing to fight with us for ethical, cruelty-free research. As new developments unfold, I’ll be providing updates on the monkey lab during our Mission Critical briefings held on Fridays at 2 p.m. ET. To join the live events or to receive the recordings, you can register here.
