Monkeys Suffer in Solitary Confinement
at Oregon Primate Center 

Matt Rossell worked as a primate technician at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center (ORPRC) but left after more than two years, frustrated with the facility’s failure to provide for the welfare of the primates. A detailed log and two hours of video documentation obtained by Matt were submitted in an Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) complaint to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to demonstrate apparent violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act including the mandate for a physical environment adequate to promote the psychological well-being of primates.

Matt’s videotapes depict many of the more than 1,200 primates who are confined to single cages at ORPRC. The animals exhibit behavioral pathologies typical of primates isolated in this way. The tapes show rhesus monkeys at the laboratory who are self-mutilating and engaging in compulsive rocking and self-clasping behaviors. In one sequence a single-caged baby rhesus monkey is crouched over, rocking, and self-clasping—behavior indicative of psychological distress caused by being isolated from his mother and deprived of any other companionship.

USDA investigated the complaint and responded in a January 5, 2001 letter to ALDF that “many of the individual items listed in the complaint consisted of information which could not be verified and therefore could not be “considered as violations for the purpose of initiating enforcement action.” However, regarding environmental enhancement: social grouping “was an area of major concern of the investigative team….ORPRC is being required to develop procedures for ensuring that appropriate efforts are made to socially house all nonhuman primates, and that exceptions to this requirement are appropriately considered and documented. These procedures will be submitted to APHIS for approval.”

“Another area of concern for the team was the feeding of produce and the filling of enrichment devices on a regular basis. Records indicated that these tasks were receiving a low priority based on the availability of time and personnel….We will be focusing additional attention on this area during future inspections.”

The letter also acknowledged that the former head of the Division of Animal Resources had resigned [though he’s now been hired by the Washington Primate Center], the former colony manager was permanently reassigned, more employees had been hired by the institution, and a plan of action was being implemented to correct the problems that were identified. We hope that ORPRC will embark on a serious effort to provide their long-suffering primates with better housing, care and enrichments and that USDA will be diligent in ensuring that this is the case.

Bottom Photo: These two infant rhesus macaques, “separated from their mothers by “experimenters at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, cling to each other for comfort in the absence of their mothers’ care. (Matt Rossell)