Peta Releases Footage of Experiments on Infant Monkeys at University of Washington Primate Center

The animal-rights group Peta has released footage that it says shows, for the first time, filmed experiments at the University of Washington's National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC). The videos depict newborn monkeys that were taken from their mothers and given neurological tests after being exposed to a neurotoxin before birth.

Records indicate that the infants, some only two days old, took part in research on domoic acid, a toxin made by marine algae that can build up in shellfish and make people ill. The project ran for six years, ending in 2020, and received more than $4.2m in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Some experiments lasted years, and Peta says the monkeys were killed once the work was finished.

In the footage, monkeys wear electrodes on their heads while researchers check whether exposure in the womb harmed their brains. The young animals appear distressed as they clutch blankets, suck their fingers, screech and jerk while their heads are shaved and their reflexes and memory are tested.

According to the account of the study, 32 pregnant macaques were given daily doses of domoic acid. After birth, 28 infants were taken from their mothers, bottle-fed and kept in incubators, then housed individually at three weeks old. Peta's chief science adviser on primate issues, Dr Lisa Jones-Engel, said the animals were so young that they still had the black fur of newborn macaques, yet "instead of clinging to their mothers, they grasp blankets on metal tables."

Dr Malene Hansen, an expert on long-tailed macaques, said infants in the wild live in close social groups and need long-term maternal care to develop socially and behaviorally. "It is unethical to conduct research that separates infant macaques from their mothers. Period," she said. The WaNPRC responded that research on infant animals raises important questions about wellbeing, and that its experienced veterinary and animal care staff have specialized expertise, including in nursery rearing. It also said the findings help explain how prenatal domoic acid exposure may affect learning and memory and "remain relevant to public health." The source notes, however, that there is no clear evidence the work led to changes in public health recommendations.

The center says it has no current infant studies, though protocols for such studies remain active. Records show it continued to breed, buy and use monkeys, including infants, for research on viruses such as Epstein-Barr and HIV. In a 2021 study, 25 infant rhesus macaques were infected with SIV, which is closely related to HIV, and suffered significant distress, chronic diarrhea and body wasting before being killed for autopsy. In another study, 10 infants were separated from their mothers within two days of birth to test an experimental Epstein-Barr vaccine.

The videos were filmed between 2017 and 2019 and were released to Peta in September 2026 in response to a records request. They emerge amid a long-running dispute between the group and the university. In a 2020 lawsuit over public-records requests, a court ruled that the university violated the law by failing to search adequately for records, in a case that revealed systematic destruction of photos and videos at the school.

Jones-Engel worked as a primate scientist at the university for 17 years and has spent 35 years as a primatologist. Her shift from researcher to campaigner is documented in a new film, Sentient. She argues that maternal separation alters an infant's physiology, immunity, behavior and development, distorting its response to the substance or disease under study. Peta is calling for all seven US National Primate Research Centers to close. Research scientist Dr Jarrod Bailey said biological differences mean monkey experiments often fail to produce treatments for diseases including HIV/Aids, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and noted that decades of animal research have yet to yield an approved HIV vaccine.

The university says it is committed to replacing, reducing and refining animal experiments, but that "animal studies remain necessary for some complex scientific questions." The NIH says animals in supported research are protected by laws, regulations and policies meant to keep numbers as low as possible and prioritize welfare. Federal agencies are moving toward alternatives such as organ-on-a-chip technology and computer modeling, yet primate research remains widespread: more than 106,000 monkeys were held in US facilities in 2025, up 1.5% from 2024, and more than 32,000 primates were imported from Asia and Africa for laboratory use from 2025 to 2026.