Animal Alliance of Canada Calls for Provincial Ban on Primate Research, Transition to Modern Alternatives
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 30, 2026 – Video footage recorded inside a York University research facility by a whistleblower working with a U.S.-based group Last Chance for Animals (LCA), reveals disturbing conditions and ethically questionable research practices. The research involves at least nine non-human primates, six of whom have been confined at the facility in Ontario for up to 17 years. Animal Alliance of Canada is calling on the Premier to immediately ban all primate research in the province.
Documented Welfare Concerns
The investigation documents severe welfare issues, including:
- Macaques subjected to repeated invasive procedures since 2009
- Craniotomies, brain implants, and outdated eye-coil technologies
- Monkeys experiencing implant infection and one reportedly tearing out the implant due to pain
- Severe water deprivation protocols, causing one macaque to drink his own urine
These reported conditions raise profound concerns regarding animal cruelty.
Prolonged invasive experimentation, repeated surgical interventions, sensory impairment, chronic confinement, and water deprivation raise serious ethical and governance questions.
Where equivalent or superior data can be obtained using human-relevant, non-animal models, continued animal use becomes scientifically redundant and morally indefensible.
A Pattern of Mistreatment in Ontario’s Primate Laboratories
York University’s violations are not an anomaly. Freedom of information records obtained by Animal Alliance of Canada from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture (then the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) reveal that other serious welfare failures involving monkeys have been documented in Ontario laboratories. These inspection reports expose longstanding, systemic problems in Ontario’s primate laboratories, including failures in care, accountability, and the most basic safeguards for animal welfare.
In one 2017 inspection, a macaque who had tested positive for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was kept in prolonged solitary confinement despite clear signs of distress. Inspectors reported he appeared “depressed and restless,” had lost interest in food, and was exhibiting self‑injurious behaviour, including hair‑pulling and significant hair loss. Records also showed he was not provided with any exercise opportunities.
Inspectors also suggested the lab “give serious consideration to the implications of maintaining” another monkey who had a chronically infected cranial implant and posed an infection risk to other monkeys.
A separate inspection that same year documented the deaths of four monkeys from brain infections and abscesses within a six‑week period. One monkey scheduled for an MRI was instead euthanized without the clinical veterinarians being informed — a direct breach of university policy and basic veterinary oversight. Inspectors warned that communication failures between research staff and veterinarians were contributing to serious lapses in health management.
Housing conditions were also found to be severely inadequate. Inspectors reported that monkeys were kept in cramped, barren cages that did not allow normal movement, climbing, or escape from aggressors. Six rhesus females were being held in solitary housing, and access to exercise pens was limited. Inspectors directed the facility to phase out these cages entirely due to their incompatibility with even minimal welfare standards.
Taken together, these findings show that York’s violations are not an isolated incident but part of a broader, longstanding pattern of mistreatment and systemic failure in Ontario’s primate research facilities. The issues documented — solitary confinement, inadequate housing, poor veterinary oversight, and preventable deaths — mirror the concerns emerging at York University.
Ontario Must Lead in Ethical, Human-Relevant Science
Animal Alliance of Canada is calling for:
- Immediate closure of the primate laboratory at York University.
- A province-wide phase out and ban on all primate research in Ontario.
- Immediate sanctuary placement for any surviving monkeys from York, and a phased retirement of monkeys from other Ontario labs to accredited sanctuaries.
- A mandatory transition to modern, human-relevant research methodologies.
“Ontario has an opportunity to lead the country in ethical, modern science.” said Lia Laskaris, Chief Executive Officer. “Animal Alliance’s Advisory Group on Humane Science stands ready to support government and institutional partners in making this transition a reality.”
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Animal Alliance Advisory Group on Humane Science
Animal Alliance’s Advisory Group includes scientists, researchers, animal welfare professionals, academics, and legal experts dedicated to advancing humane, human-relevant science in Canada. The group provides expert guidance to ensure laws, policies, and research practices move away from animal use and toward innovative, ethical alternatives.
The use of monkeys is deeply concerning. But so is how they are sourced and imported. For more information about monkey research in Canada, visit: https://www.animalprotectionparty.ca/endangered-monkeys/
