Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been told to phase out all of their monkey research, Science has learned. The directive, communicated to CDC staff by a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee and recent college graduate who is now a top official at the agency, will end studies on approximately 200 macaques. The fate of the animals—largely used in work on HIV prevention—is unclear; some may be transferred to primate sanctuaries, others may be euthanized.
Apart from the retirement of research chimpanzees initiated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a decade ago, the move would mark the first time a U.S. agency has ended its in-house nonhuman primate program. “It’s unprecedented,” says Sally Thompson-Iritani, the assistant vice provost responsible for the University of Washington’s animal care program.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the heads of several U.S. research agencies—including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency, and NIH—have announced plans to reduce their reliance on animal studies. Instead, the agencies aim to invest more in organ chips and other “new approach methodologies.”
CDC’s order was communicated by a relatively unknown former DOGE employee named Sam Beyda, several sources tell Science. Beyda—who was recently named CDC’s deputy chief of staff, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has confirmed to Bloomberg News—has a sparse online presence with no obvious evidence of a science background. He graduated with a degree in economics from Columbia University in 2023, and in 2020 he co-authored an editorial expressing interest in volunteering to be a human subject for a COVID-19 vaccine challenge trial.
https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-cdc-end-all-monkey-research
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Ummmmm, I actually approve of this?
DOGE did something right for once!
Stopped clock syndrome?
I will say that these monkeys do need to be cared for the rest of their lives in primate luxury, and not just killed.
We owe them that.
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