Monkey Dies At Oregon Experimentation Facility Following Medication Failure

Portland, OR — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) for violating the Animal Welfare Act after a rhesus macaque died following the abrupt discontinuation of long-term steroid treatment.

According to a Jan. 20, 2026, USDA inspection report, two macaques receiving prednisone for chronic skin disease had their twice-daily corticosteroid treatment inadvertently ended without tapering. Days later, one macaque showed signs of distress, including decreased appetite and lethargy, and was killed. The USDA noted that abruptly discontinuing corticosteroids may cause pain, suffering, or death.

“This was a preventable breakdown in basic veterinary oversight,” said Janine McCarthy, MPH, director of research policy of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “The fact that this occurred in a federally funded primate experimentation facility housing thousands of monkeys raises serious concerns about systemic oversight failures.”

This latest citation adds to a longstanding record of Animal Welfare Act violations at the primate center, including previous findings related to veterinary care failures, animal injuries, and deaths.

In February 2026, the OHSU Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution authorizing negotiations with the National Institutes of Health to transition the ONPRC toward closure and potential conversion into a primate sanctuary. The Physicians Committee has worked for years alongside Oregon physicians, policymakers, and community members to advocate for ending invasive primate experimentation at ONPRC and transitioning the facility toward a humane future.

“This preventable death highlights exactly why primate experimentation must end,” McCarthy added. “OHSU has already taken an important first step by authorizing negotiations with NIH. We urge university leadership to move swiftly to begin those negotiations and establish a clear, public timeline to wind down primate experimentation and transition toward modern, human-based science.”