On October 7, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “the Service”) denied a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other advocacy groups to remove long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The decision concludes a review by the USFWS in which the agency determined that the application did not contain credible information to support impacts to the finfish populations or the species as a whole due to potential threats, either individual or cumulative, so the species should possibly be added to the list.
Long-tailed macaques are used extensively in biomedical research worldwide because they are very similar to humans. Six of the 25 most commonly used prescription drugs were developed using long-tailed macaques.1 Research with long-tailed macaques has been critical to advances in regenerative medicine,2 immunology,3 cancer research,4 vaccine development,5 and pharmacology.6 The National Institutes for Health (NIH) have recently published a review confirming the importance of long-tailed macaques for biomedical research.
The USFWS’s decision follows a recent decision by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to reconsider the classification of long-tailed mackerel as “vulnerable.” This was in response to a petition from the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR), in which challenged the IUCN’s classification decision.7 The IUCN directed the authors who conducted a status review (Hansen et al. 2022) to re-evaluate their assessment to resolve the scientific issues raised by the NABR in their petition.
The NABR petition showed that the report by Hansen et. al. 2022, which the IUCN used as a basis for its decision to list the status of the long-tailed macaque, misrepresented existing scientific data. In a separate petition from Dr. Hank Jenkins, which is still pending at the IUCN, is claimed that the authors of Hansen et al. (2022) have conflicts of interest that require further investigation by the IUCN.
“NABR appreciates that the USFWS rejected the petition submitted by PETA and other stakeholders based on the best available scientific information,” said NABR Chairman Matthew R. Bailey. “It is clear from the available scientific information that this species is not endangered and further review of its status is not warranted. NABR looks forward to working with the USFWS to ensure the integrity of its scientific processes.”
The conservation status of the long-tailed macaque and PETA’s involvement in government programs were the subject of a September 2024 U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee Hearing (a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee). Witnesses at that hearing testified that PETA and other animal rights organizations improperly attempted to influence government investigations of private parties and foreign governments for political purposes.
More information about the NABR petition can be found online at www.nabr.org.
Information about the National Association for Biomedical Research Founded in 1979, the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) is the only 501(c)(6) nonprofit association advocating for sound public policy for the humane use of animals in biomedical research, training, and testing. Members include more than 340 universities, medical and veterinary schools, teaching hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, patient groups, and academic and professional societies that rely on humane and responsible animal research to improve human and animal health worldwide. Find out more about us at www.nabr.org.
1 FBR’s Role of LTMs in Research Fact Sheet 01-2024 FINAL, available online at https://fbr-cms-bucket.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/FBR_s_Role_of_LT_Ms_in_Research_Fact_Sheet_01_2024_FINAL_802d17fd7d.pdf?updated_at=2024-02-26T16:44:17.000Z
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8848615/#:~:text=Non%2Dhuman%20primates%20play%20a,organs%20affected%20by%20degenerative%20diseases. Regenerative medicine
3 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-018-0005-7 Immunology
4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9808758/#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20NHP%20naturally%20develop%20cancers,and%20patients%20with%20human%20cancer. Cancer research/therapies
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5886327/ Behavioral Pharmacology
6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8402317/ COVID 19 vaccine development
7 See Hilborn, R., & Smith, D. R. (2023). Is the long-tailed macaque at risk of extinction? American Journal of Primatology, e23590. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23590