Covance supplier exposed
Evidence of shocking animal conditions at a monkey farm in Vietnam that supplies monkeys to Covance, the animal testing company planning to build a new laboratory in Chandler, has been uncovered leading to calls to Chandler Council to take action. The investigation carried out by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), a leading international animal protection organization, raises new concerns surrounding animal welfare and public health.
When Dr Jane Goodall, the internationally renowned primatologist, saw the photographic evidence for herself she stated that such suffering should not be tolerated. The BUAV is now calling on the Chandler Council to withhold its support for the proposed new animal-testing laboratory within its community and to take a stance against the role Covance plays in this cruel trade by passing an ordinance to ban the use of such imported primates within its city limits. A letter and DVD have been sent to individual Chandler Council officials.
The investigation carried out by the BUAV has revealed the appalling conditions at Nafovanny in Vietnam where monkeys are being factory-farmed, bred in their thousands and sold to companies such as Covance. Many of the animals were forced to live in cramped, barren metal cages that failed to meet their physical and psychological needs. Such conditions breach the Codes of Practice adopted by the International Primatological Society to ensure good practice and facilitate the well-being of captive primates.
The international trade in primates for research is a business which involves misery, suffering and death for these animals. Each year tens of thousands of monkeys are transported around the world to be used for laboratory research. They come from countries such as Mauritius, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Tanzania. Some of these animals will have been trapped in the wild whilst others are bred in captivity. Capture and caging inflicts great suffering on these sensitive and social animals as they are ripped from their family troops, imprisoned in metal cages and shipped around the world to be sold as research ‘tools.’
Furthermore, monkeys are reservoirs of numerous viral and other organisms which can cause severe and often fatal disease in human beings. Whereas scientists are familiar with some of these diseases, there may be many which will not become evident until after years in captivity. The importation of primates as “pets” was banned by the USA in 1975 because of public health concerns. Despite this, tens of thousands of monkeys are allowed in for research purposes each year.
Covance is the biggest importer of primates into the USA, each year importing thousands of monkeys from countries such as China, Mauritius, the Philippines and Vietnam. In 2005, Covance imported over 12,000 monkeys into the USA, over 4,000 of these were from Vietnam. On just one day alone, Covance imported over 1000 monkeys from Nafovanny in Vietnam.
Dr Jane Goodall, stated “I am saddened by the findings of the BUAV’s investigation. The factory-farming of these highly intelligent and sensitive non-human primates for research companies is totally unacceptable. Such suffering should not be tolerated.”
Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of the BUAV, stated “Covance plays a major role in the cruel and brutal trade in primates for research. We do not believe that the people of Chandler will want to have a company with such a tarnished reputation for animal welfare within their community. We hope that our investigation will spur public condemnation of Covance’s proposal to build an animal laboratory in Chandler and we urge Chandler Council to take a stance against this cruelty by banning the use of imported primates within its city.”