The Reality
Every year, hundreds of Australian macaques, marmosets, baboons, and night monkeys are confined to laboratories. They are caged, subjected to invasive procedures, and almost always killed once the experiment ends.
Most Australians don’t support primate experiments and over 100,000 citizens have already called for a ban.
There is also global opposition to primate experiments from experts in the fields of neuroscience, animal welfare, conservation, primatology and pharmacology.
Why This Matters
Primates are not “research tools”—they are highly intelligent and deeply social beings.
- They experience complex emotions like grief, fear and empathy
- They form lifelong bonds
- They can problem-solve and have self-awareness similar to ours
Subjecting such sentient beings to invasive procedures, confinement and isolation inflicts profound psychological and physical suffering.
Unfortunately, the system fails to protect them (more details on this below).
How the System is Failing
Primate research in Australia is guided mainly by the NHMRC’s 2016 Guidelines, and partly by the Australian Code (2013) and state laws. But here’s the problem:
- Self-regulated – it is up to the institution’s own AEC to decide if the research is justified and how the experiment will be conducted
- Outdated – the Code and Guidelines haven’t been updated in years, ignoring the enormous advances in our understanding of primate cognition, sentience and welfare needs.
- Weak – poor standards fail to safeguard primate welfare and leave room for interpretation. This is how some primates end up in cages millions of times smaller than their natural habitat.
This lack of clarity and accountability means primates continue to endure suffering, despite the framework that claims to protect them. We have proven this in documented case studies.
Tell the Federal Health Minister to stop funding primate experiments:
Need more info? For a comprehensive overview of Australia’s primate breeding and research industry, regulations, ethical issues and even prospects of retirement, see our resources on primate experimentation.
What You Can Do
Primate experiments will only end if enough people demand it. Here’s how you can take action today:
- Push for Government action
First, use our form to send an email urging the government to stop using taxpayer money to fund primate experiments (over $11M in 2021-2024). Your email will be sent to the Minister for Health and copied to the National Health and Medical Research Council.
- Speak out against Australia’s largest primate research facility – located in Gippsland, Victoria, and operated by Monash university.
Fill in our form to send a letter to the MP of the electorate in which the facility is situated.
- Support AFSA
We are the only organisation in Australia advocating exclusively for animals in research, and funded almost entirely by donations. Your generosity supports our ongoing advocacy and campaigns for primates in Australia…every contribution counts! - Spread Awareness
Most Australians don’t know this is happening—right here, on our doorstep. Increase public support and visibility by sharing our sharing the petition with family and friends. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram and share our updates. Use hashtags #BanPrimateExperiments.And to take part in local campaigns against primate breeding facilities in Gippsland, Victoria , contact AFSA.
What AFSA is Doing
AFSA is the foremost organisation in Australia campaigning against primate experiments—and we’re leading the charge for change. As part of our campaign we:
- Uncover the hidden realities of life for primates in laboratories
- Expose the lack of accountability and transparency behind primate use
- Bring national attention to primate suffering at events and through media coverage
- Actively engage policymakers
- Mobilise public support through petitions and awareness projects
- Highlight ethical and scientifically superior alternatives
- Contribute to legal and policy reform through submissions and representation at Inquiries
Retirement and Rehabilitation
For the few primates that survive the research lab, there is no option for retirement or rehabilitation in a designated sanctuary. Despite recommendations in the Australian Code, almost all primates are killed once their use ends.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Programs in the US and Europe have shown that primates can successfully transition to sanctuary environments where their needs are met and they can experience freedom.
Our vision is to create primate retirement pathways in Australia. Through funding arrangements between federal and state governments, and collaboration with sanctuaries local and abroad, we can give primates the dignity and freedom they deserve.
Add your voice to our email campaign above to demand that government fund and facilitate genuine retirement options for surviving primates.
