PETA: NIH Tried to Help Disgraced Monkey Abusers in Colombia Keep Funding

The 2022 Colombian presidential election transpired peacefully, with no documented evidence of persecution of primate researchers or any events that may have had a material impact on CSRC’s activities. There is no evidence that political violence as a result of Marxist terrorist groups in the country, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or National Liberation Army (ELN), would have resulted in monkey abuse at the CSRC laboratory.

In the May letter, NIH requested a “clear and thorough timeline to include notifications to NIAID [the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an NIH institute] specific to activities associated with the January 16, 2023 suspension,” as the researchers did not appear to have notified NIH about the police seizure or shutdown of the laboratory.

“As noted in your response, the research activity involving non-human primates at FUCEP was suspended on January 16, 2023. Why was this not reported to NIAID in a timely manner?” NIH asked Herrera in the May 4 letter.

NIH also notes that communications that CSRC had with both NIAID and NIH between January and February did not appear to have any relation with the January 16 suspension.

“CSRC stated that it has kept NIAID informed and references: an in-person discussion with NIAID on January 4, 2023; messages from lawyers to NIAID and NIH on February 8, 2023 and March 23, 2023; and a teleconference with NIAID on February 13, 2023,” the letter reads. “It is unclear how the stated communications are associated with the suspension on January 16, 2023. For example, the referenced January 4, 2023 in-person discussion occurred prior to the suspension, and the stated messages from the lawyer and teleconference occurred over three weeks after the suspension.”

The May 4 letter also states that during the January 4 meeting, NIAID had inquired to researchers about PETA’s investigation — originally published on PETA’s website on January 1 — as well as the inspection carried out by the relevant Colombian authorities, and the irregularities in CSRC’s organizational structure.

“NIAID received email communication on February 6, 2023 indicating that CVC had to temporarily stop the non-human primate (NHP) experiments but the communication did not mention that the NHP colonies were being seized, and a team meeting was held on February 14, 2023 on scientific progress where the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) confirmed there was no immediate need of NHPs,” the letter continued.

NIH also requested verification that the laboratory was in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies of local jurisdictions — a requirement to be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant.

“In response to NIAID’s question 4. Are all research activities using animals (regardless of the animal species) still active at the CSRC site?” NIH asked. “CSRC stated that the NIAID-sponsored projects comply with the terms and conditions of the award. However, in a letter dated April 19, 2023 from Myriam ArevaloHerrera, Ph.D. addressed to the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), it is stated that research continued prior to license renewal because CVC’s slow response to the license renewal application and because CSRC was confident the license would be reissued.”

Despite these questions, presented in a tone suggesting NIH’s patience had been exhausted, the federal agency appeared open to continuing to fund the CSRC if irregularities were sufficiently resolved. NIH requested a “revised long-term research plan,” mentioning a proposal allegedly presented by the Colombian researchers that involved moving the project to other “collaborative centers” in either Panama, Peru, or Brazil, as “it does not seem possible that animal studies (at least the non-human primate studies) will be resumed soon” at CSRC’s facility in Colombia.

“The animal studies already yielded negative outcome,” NIH stated in the letter.

The letter reiterated to the CSRC that any new plans must comply with local animal welfare laws or risk losing funding — without mentioning the past violations of Colombian animal welfare laws that led to the closure of the laboratory in January.

Lastly, NIH informs CSRC that it may request a bilateral termination of the awards should they be unable to propose plans to achieve the project’s aims without the use of animals.

According to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), the Caucaseco Scientific Research Center is still listed as an institution with a Public Health Service (PHS) Approved Animal Welfare Assurance. The certification is a requirement for institutions that conduct or support animal research funded by the PHS, and ensures that the institution meets the standards set forth in the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Still appearing on the OLAW site means the CSRC still has a green light to conduct animal experiments with American money.

On May 19, Colombia’s Valle del Cauca Autonomous Regional Corporation (CVC) organization — tasked with administration and protection of environmental resources of the Valle de Cauca region — presented a report and filed formal charges against the Caucaseco Scientific Research Center for lacking the proper permits to conduct its experiments on monkeys,  causing “harm to wildlife,” and for other violations that were determined during the inspection and shut down of the laboratory. 

The National Institutes of Health has not responded to a request for comment from Breitbart News at press time.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.