U.S. 2010 primate imports decrease slightly over 2009 figures
According to data IPPL has received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. imported 21,315 monkeys and apes last year. That is 783 fewer than in 2009.
This sounds like good news, but the data do not indicate some important information, such as:
- how many monkeys were dead on arrival,
- where the imported monkeys ended up, or
- what percentage of shipments was inspected by USFWS inspectors.
The Centers for Disease Control inspects arriving shipments and tracks them at the quarantine stations, but this agency is extremely secretive. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are delayed, and, if one gets documents, they are mainly blacked out to protect the dealers’ “privacy.” The CDC itself uses monkeys in research, so it has no interest in the public learning of the horrible experiments in which monkeys are used.
Crab-eating macaque monkeys like this one are the most common primate imports to the U.S.
Again, as in previous years, we see China as the main source of imported primates to the U.S. (62 percent of all U.S. primate imports). Of the 13,216 monkeys imported from China, 11,478 (86.8 %) were crab-eating macaques, a species not native to that country. The other Chinese imports consisted of 1,738 (native) rhesus macaque monkeys.
All data here is unedited material from the spreadsheet received from the USWFS.
Total primates imported to the U.S. in 2010: 21,315
Sorted by species in descending order (excluding species with fewer than 20 animals imported):
- Macaca fascicularis: 19,243 (crab-eating macaque)
- Macaca mulatta: 1,738 (rhesus macaque)
- Chlorocebus aethiops: 130 (vervet monkey)
- Macaca nemestrina: 100 (pig-tailed macaque)
- Squirrel monkey 40 (squirrel monkey)
- Chlorocebus sabaeus: 28 (green monkey)
Sorted by countries of origin exporting 50+ monkeys, arranged in descending order:
- China: 13,216
- Mauritius: 3,000
- Cambodia: 2,400
- Vietnam: 1,680
- Indonesia: 541
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: 158
- Philippines: 125
- Israel: 120
- Guyana: 51
Sorted by port of entry (ports reported as a source of over 20 animals):
- Los Angeles, CA: 13,196
- Chicago, IL: 4,200
- New York, NY: 3,501
- Miami, FL: 217
- San Francisco, CA: 200
Sorted by name of importers of 500+ monkeys (four are branches of Charles River):
- Covance Research Products, Inc.: 8,318
- Charles River Laboratories (Research Models and Services): 3,105
- SNBL USA: 2,727
- Charles River Laboratories, BRF: 1,718
- Worldwide Primates, Inc.: 1,366
- Primate Products: 825
- Charles River Laboratories (PG): 720
- Harlan Laboratories: 650
- Charles River Laboratories Preclinical Services: 600