Oxford University revealed that 66 macaque monkeys were used last year in medical research.
The primates were used in investigations into brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. This is because the brain of a monkey is more similar to human brain than that of a mouse or a rat. Some monkeys were used to develop vaccinations for HIV.
The university was ordered to release this data earlier this term by the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, following the requests made by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.
Oxford University stated that monkeys accounted for under one percent of animals housed at its Biomedical Sciences Laboratory. They are only used when no other species can deliver the research answer.
