Hundreds of endangered monkeys are being taken from the African bush and sent
to a “secretive” laboratory in Iran for scientific experiments.
An undercover inquiry by The Sunday Times has revealed that wild monkeys,
which are banned from experiments in Britain, are being freely supplied in
large numbers to laboratories in other parts of the world. All will undergo
invasive and maybe painful experiments leading ultimately to their death.
One Tanzanian dealer, Nazir Manji, who runs African Primates, an
animal-supplying company based in Dar es Salaam, said that in recent years
he had been selling up to 4,000 vervet monkeys a year to laboratories,
charging about £60 each.
Vervets are protected under the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (Cites). Despite this they are being routinely caught and
sold to any buyer prepared to pay.
Another Tanzanian dealer, Filbert Rubibira, was asked last year to prepare an
order of monkeys to send to the Chinese military for “scientific purposes”.
The deal was cancelled at the last minute for reasons that were unclear.
Rubibira told an undercover reporter posing as a buyer that the Cites office
in Tanzania would sign permits regardless of what fate awaited the monkeys.
“They don’t care about that,” he said. “If it’s for scientific, if it’s for
the zoo, if the plane is accepted for transport they don’t care about that .
. . The purpose is not a problem.”
Rubibira also indicated that he had no problem if the animals were to be used
for cosmetics testing. He said: “We can ask the Cites officer to write [on
the certificate] M for medical, scientific purposes, or T for trade
purposes. whichever you want.”
Manji said scientists at the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute in Iran
had bought 215 vervet monkeys from him this year but he had become
suspicious about their true motive, although he was still trading with them.
They had “spent a lot of money” on getting the monkeys, even sending over
scientists to check on each consignment.
“Iran is very secretive,” said Manji, who has been exporting monkeys for 22
years. “They said it [the monkeys] was for ‘our country’, for vaccine. [They
said] ‘We don’t buy vaccine from anywhere; we prepare our own vaccine’.
“But I think they use it for something else. You know why? Because they don’t
go on kilos. Iran wants [monkeys weighing] 1.5kg to 2.5kg, [but] 1.5kg for
vaccine is not possible.”
Rubibira indicated that finding out what the Iranians wanted the monkeys for
would be difficult. “They cannot say, you know. They are secretive. They
wouldn’t tell the truth.”
The revelation will fuel speculation that the monkeys may be used for research
involving biological weapons. Primates are typically used by scientists
wishing to test both the effectiveness of germ warfare agents and defences
against them.
The Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, which has its headquarters in
Karaj, near Tehran, has been accused in the past by an Iranian opposition
group of conducting biological weapons testing.
According to US intelligence, the pharmaceutical industry in Iran has long
been used as a cover for developing a germ warfare capability.
In 2005 the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Iran
“continued to seek dual-use biotechnology materials, equipment and expertise
that are consistent with its growing legitimate biotechnology industry but
could benefit Tehran’s assessed probable BW [biological weapons] programme”.
Earlier this year it reiterated this.
The Razi institute, which was established in 1925, does legitimate research
but does not publicly list on its website the use of primates in any of its
current projects. Other animals being used for experiments, such as guinea
pigs and mice, are mentioned.
Animal welfare groups called for an immediate inquiry into the revelations.
Will Travers, head of the Born Free Foundation, said the captured monkeys
would endure “terror and suffering” followed by “possibly painful”
experiments and then death.
He said: “Following this Sunday Times exposé, Born Free is calling on the
Cites authorities based in Switzerland and the Tanzanian government to
immediately investigate exactly what is going on.”
Michelle Thew, chief executive for the British Union for the Abolition of
Vivisection, said: “The BUAV is appalled by the findings of The Sunday
Times. The BUAV renews its call to governments such as Tanzania to protect
its indigenous populations of primates and put an end to this unacceptable
suffering.”
Vervet monkeys, like most other primates, are classed in the Cites appendix
II, which stipulates that all the species listed “although not necessarily
now threatened with extinction may become so unless trade in specimens of
such species is subject to strict regulation”. In practice this means that
dealers are legally able to sell thousands every year.
However, the use of all wild-caught monkeys in experiments has effectively
been banned in Britain since 1997 and the pharmaceutical giant
Glaxo-Smith-Kline, which produces a quarter of the world’s vaccines, has
also stopped using them.
The European Commission is reviewing a directive on the use of animal
experiments in Europe which may lead to an EU-wide ban on wild monkeys being
used.
The monkeys are caught, or “harvested”, by men who first herd them into a tree
at dusk.
The catchers then lay a 200m net below the tree and, at daybreak, scare the
monkeys out of the branches and into the trap.
Then they are transported 250 miles overland from the main trapping grounds in
Arusha near the Kenyan border to Dar es Salaam.
On arrival at Manji’s holding farm, where he can accommodate up to 1,000
monkeys at one time, they are transferred into tiny metal cages where they
often remain for several weeks. They are then flown in wooden rates on Air
Zimbabwe planes to countries such as Iran.
It is unclear exactly which type of vaccine the Razi scientists are claiming
to be using the vervets for, but the World Health Organisation guidelines on
the production of polio vaccine state that vervet monkeys used for testing
it should weigh a minimum of 1.5kg.
However, the monkeys’ kidney cells can also be used to produce the vaccine, in
which case the weight is not relevant.
Nobody from the institute was available to comment.
BRED FOR LAB
Experiments are carried out on various primates in a number of scientific
fields
— Baboons are used for research into the brain, endometriosis and
strokes. Vervets are often used for testing the effectiveness of new
vaccines
— Monkeys are commonly used to test vaccines for ‘biological weapon’
diseases such as anthrax and plague
— The World Health Organisation says mice can be used to test the polio
vaccine. However, monkeys will still be bought and killed by some scientists
to use their kidney cells to create the vaccines
— Experimenting on monkeys caught in the wild was effectively banned in
Britain in 1997.Since then permission to use them has required special
authority from the Home Office, which has not been granted for 10 years
— Only monkeys bred in captivity are now used for research
— America, Russia, China andIran are among the countries still using
wild monkeys
Hi,
Just like to point out that the MoD and so many other organisations & companies are all doing animal experiments, on all various species - all are cruel. The article is trying to get ppl to think that "Iran is doing biolocial warfare experiments" so it can "justifiably" be invaded!!!!!!!!!!!
Aquila Carn , East Ham, United Kingdom
Thank you for reporting on this important issue. Any abuse of human or non-human animal rights is always worth reporting. Animal experiments make me sick enough as it is but i dread to think what will happen to these creatures in the labs of Iran. Sad to see so many selfish, speciesist comments too
Ben Hillyer, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Thank you and Sunday Times for uncovering this horrific decimation of vervet monkeys.
The Tehran Times (Iran's leading daily newspaper) October 27, 2007, PRIMATES IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION, wherein it was reported that of the world's 394 primate species, 114 are critically endangered to extinction.
Bob Venter, Letsitele, South Africa
There is absolutely NO proof whereby humans have benefitted from vervet monkey bio-medical research. In fact, more human incurable diseases have been caused by such research. It is ill informed people like Gary, Tallahassee, USA that should wake up and get facts concerning animal experimentation.
Bob Venter, Letsitele, South Africa
I have been rehabilitating vervet monkeys for the last 15 years and have witnessed the cruel inhumane way that vervet monkeys and baboons are subjected to in chemical and nuclear warfare experimentations. This Iran's vervet monkey testing is NOT for the betterment of the human race but to destroy it
Bob Venter, Letsitele, South Africa
How many Iraqi men, women and children did the Brits help to kill?! And now they are worried about monkeys or they are monkey again for the American-Republican anti-Iran war mongering. Independent evidence of germ warfare or hysterical propaganda on behalf of American-British defense contractors?!
Yuri, Kansas, USA
Read 'Demon in the Freezer' Then good luck sleeping.
Gary, Tallahassee, USA
Hey people are animals too and through evolution we have won the race. I say make animals support any need humans have like the majority of the world does. I would kill 10,000 monkeys to save my kids whether wild or not. While they should be treated humanely as possible, do what you need to do with them to save or protect human lives.
Ted Cory, LA, USA
Sad that animals are subjected to that but its nothing new. Its obvious that its for bio-weapons but nothing at all will be done about that or their nuke program. Iran is caught with blueprints for a nuke warhead and people are still debating.
The international community is completely impotant.
Mark, Manchester, USA
Just read U.S. everytime it says Iran, they do exactly the same thing. Sheesh.
Eve, Toronto,
Hey cry babies. This article is about warfare and tools of war, not sympathy for monkeys. Step on off your pedestal and get a life.
Jackal, St. Louis, USA
I think 550 metric tons of yellow cake uranium that was transported out of Iraq in June 2008 is proof of a weapons program.
Dave, Cypress, Ca
E Pryor sums up the aim of Environmentalists in a sentence. We can't say we haven't been warned.
Frank Upton, Solihull,
The idea that since these Iranian individuals involved in this trade will not give their reasons for importing the monkeys, they are therefore producing biological weapons is wild speculation. This is more of the same war propaganda we hear every day about Iran, just the lies of the war profiteers.
Derek, New York City, USA
The extinction of humans is what planet earth needs, nature could in the process of doing this.
E Pryor , Gravesend, UK
More evidence to invade Iran George? (Your oil may run out by the next century-better secure it now )
Mark, Perth, Australia
Thos poor animals; the abuse and pain they are going to go through prior to dying is often untold.
I have NEVER cared which country did the testing, I have never agreed with it. Those poor, poor things. Sometimes people are worse than animals.....
Debbie, california, usa
I hope that Mugabe doesn't read this. It may give him ideas for using his Opposition to raise some cash.
Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what is really condemned?
Iran scientific activities or the export of easy sold African monkeys to laboratories round the world?
the US intelligence has at least disclosed its own purpose of wide experiments on monkeys in its LABs.
the grass is alwasys green on the other side!
Akram, CA,
Primates are typically used by scientists wishing to test both the effectiveness of germ warfare agents and DEFENCES AGAINST THEM. (As Iran is situated next to a country that has previously used WMD and is occupied by a country which has used WMD and continues to develop them it could be expected that Iran is developing Vaccines and Antidotes using monkeys and not using people like Iraq did!)
Adrain, London, UK
What is Iran up to with these monkeys? Biological warfare? Watch out, not every problem is nuclear.
Colin, shrewsbury,
I suppose we do not have any monkeys for research in the UK or US...
Farrukh, Woking,
Wow, this is straight out of a Tom Clancy novel from about 10 years ago. Even the same country.
Does it take that long to get it translated into Persian?
Scott, Tallinn, Estonia
This is right out of a Tom Clancy novel. Scary. If they are found to be on a path to a viral WMD, we need to take them out.
Sorry liberals, you were wrong about pacifism. I have absolutely no confidence in Obama to deal effectively with these issues.
Andy, Malvern PA, United States
This is not betrayal. Vervet monkeys have no reason to expect humans to be nice to them. However, Iran is violating CITES, which they signed. But, I suspect this is just Iranian scientists conducting vaccine research, and the USA and UK intelligence wagging the dog. Again.
Alex Pacheco, Oyster Bay, USA
Send a brigade of PETA stormtroopers to Iran to liberate the monkeys...
Captain Curtice, New Providence, USA
I am really sick of Bush trying to "build a case." Either they are a threat or they are not! I believe they are; Ahmadinejad makes the case against himself and his government every time he opens his mouth. We have them surrounded, the Iranian people deserve a chance at freedom, lets roll.
matt, denver, usa
Animals have been betrayed by every country, society and government - greed for profit at the expense of a lifetime of misery and despair in the protected laboratories in which The White Coats purposely inflict pain and suffering - LEGALIZED ANIMAL CRUELTY! Disgusting, and shame on mankind.
Erica Middleton, Oyster Bay, USA
Incredible! Here is proof that Iran is continuing at any cost to develop WMD, yet the idiot USA-Bush-bashers come out in full force. Do you all think that these monkeys are being used for peaceful purposes?? Please tell me that you are not that ignorant.
Bob, Boston, USA
this article makes one despair of Africans selling their cousins out when they are not slaughtering each other
peter c, Devizes, Wessex
WARNING: Latest war pimp alert!
For:"Undercover Times investigation". Read US 'Defense Dpt' ie US/Israeli, joint Ministry for war- propaganda hand-out.
I was proven dead right about the lies and attack on Iraq also the next taget-Iran. Bush is comitted to get US into this war by November.
John, Harrogate,
@ John in Alexandria
There's the old joke...
Q: Why does PETA throw red paint on little old ladies in fur coats?
A: Because it is much safer than throwing red paint on bikers in leather.
Smeg, Rochester, USA
"This kind of warmongering "reporting" about WMD got us into Iraq" - thank you Jean, I couldn't agree more. I'm not sure we should be getting fired up about WMDs based on pure speculation.
John, London,
It is always about money. PETA only goes after slam dunks. Some intimidation and they get money in the form of a donation. File a lawsuit add some publicity and they don't show up in court as the witness for the prosecution. They are very self serving and create more problems than they fix.
Rich, Nebraska , USA
I do believe the British, German, French etc. all had the same intel on biological weapons in Iraq. So let us not jump to assertions of incomptence among the United States intelligence agencies. It was not until Merkel was elected that you German's finally got a spine to be reactive.
Chris, Chicago, United States
Worse, the animals are often dissected while still alive and awake to extract the vaccine base from their organs. They die in truly horrendous pain. Until recently this was the case for many vaccines worldwide, not just in Africa.
Nullius, London, UK
Felipe, I don't know what's worse: Iran's barbaric cruelty or the stupid incompetence and lies of the Portuguese - especially their police!
Fred, Lincoln, UK
Although I am absolutely against this kind of abuse of any animal, I am appalled you are so quick to cite the (oh-so-reliable) "US intelligence claims" that the monkeys are being used to make germ warfare agents, as your title screams. This kind of warmongering "reporting" about WMD got us into Iraq
Jean Callaghan, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Where's PETA? I noticed that PETA is no where to be heard or seen when it is a Communist or dictatorship country. They never speak up when it is a country that might put them in jail or kill them if they went to this country to protest and do sit-ins like they do in the US. Chickens.
John, Alexandria , USA
"Only monkeys bred in captivity are now used for research"
WOW!!!
I don't know which is the worst: Iran's barbaric cruelty or British hypocrisy!...
Filipe da Silva, Braga, Portugal