Primate Research: New Footage Shows Infant Monkeys Separated From Mothers

Animal rights group Peta released video footage in September 2026 showing experiments conducted at the University of Washington’s National Primate Research Center. The clips, filmed between 2017 and 2019, were obtained in response to a public records request. They depict newborn macaques undergoing neurological testing after their mothers were exposed to a marine toxin during pregnancy.

The research project ran from 2014 to 2020 and received over $4.2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Scientists administered daily doses of domoic acid, a toxin found in shellfish, to 32 pregnant macaques. After birth, researchers removed 28 infants from their mothers. These babies, some only two days old, were bottle-fed and placed in incubators before being housed individually at three weeks of age.

The footage shows the infant monkeys with electrodes attached to their heads. They appear distressed, clutching blankets, sucking their fingers, and screeching while experimenters shaved their heads and tested their reflexes. Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, Peta’s chief science adviser on primate issues, noted that the monkeys still had the distinctive black fur of newborns but were grasping blankets on metal tables instead of clinging to their mothers.

Dr. Malene Hansen, a long-tailed macaque expert, stated that infant macaques have long-term maternal care needs for social and behavioral development. She called the separation unethical, noting that these animals cannot thrive without their mothers in the wild, where they live in close social groups. Jones-Engel, who worked as a primate scientist at the University of Washington for 17 years, argued that maternal separation alters an infant’s physiology and immunity, distorting its response to the substance being studied.

The University of Washington’s center acknowledged that maternal relationships are important considerations in primate welfare. It stated that its veterinary and animal care personnel have specialized expertise in nursery rearing. The center said the studies contributed to understanding how prenatal domoic acid exposure affects learning and memory, though no clear evidence shows the experiments led to changes in public health recommendations. According to Peta, the monkeys were killed after the experiments concluded.

The release of the footage occurs amid a long-running dispute between Peta and the university. In a 2020 lawsuit, a court ruled that the university violated laws by failing to adequately search for records, revealing the systematic destruction of photos and videos. Although the domoic acid research ended in 2020, records show the center continued to use infant monkeys for virus studies. In 2021, 25 infant rhesus macaques were infected with SIV to study AIDS progression. In another study, 10 infant monkeys were separated from their mothers within two days of birth to test an experimental Epstein-Barr vaccine.

Peta is calling for the closure of all seven US National Primate Research Centers. Dr. Jarrod Bailey, a research scientist, argued that biological differences often cause monkey experiments to fail in delivering treatments for human diseases. He noted that despite decades of research, no approved HIV vaccine has been produced. Federal agencies are shifting toward reducing animal testing in favor of new technologies, yet more than 106,000 monkeys were held in US facilities in 2025, a 1.5 percent increase from 2024.