The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rejects Petition to List Long-Tailed Macaques Under the Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON – October 7, 2024 – On October 7, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “the Service”) declined to accept a petition filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other advocacy groups to list long-tailed macaque (“LTM”) monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).

The decision caps a review by USFWS in which the Service found the petition did not present credible information to support impacts to LTM populations or the species as a whole due to potential threats, either separately or cumulatively, such that the species may warrant listing.

Long-tailed macaques are used extensively throughout the world in biomedical research given their close approximation to human beings. Six of the 25 most used prescription drugs were developed with the help of long-tailed macaques.[1] Research with long-tailed macaques has been crucial for advances in regenerative medicine,[2] immunology,[3] cancer,[4] vaccine development,[5] and pharmacology.[6]The National Institutes for Health (NIH) recently published a review confirming the importance of LTMs in conducting biomedical research.

The USFWS decision follows a recent decision by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to reconsider the “Endangered” designation of LTM in response to a petition from the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) challenging the listing decision by IUCN.[7]The IUCN directed authors that had conducted a status review (Hansen et al. 2022) to reevaluate their assessment to address scientific issues raised by NABR in its petition.

NABR’s petition showed the 2022 review by Hansen et. al., which the IUCN used as the basis for its decision to uplist the long-tailed macaque’s status, misrepresented existing scientific data.

A separate petition filed by Dr. Hank Jenkins, which remains pending before the IUCN, asserts that the Hansen et al. (2022) authors possess conflicts of interest that require further investigation by the IUCN.  

“NABR is pleased that the USFWS has declined to accept the petition filed by PETA and other advocacy groups based upon its consideration of the best available scientific information,”  said Matthew R. Bailey, president of NABR.  “Available scientific information clearly shows that this species is not at risk and does not warrant a further status review. NABR looks forward to working with USFWS to ensure the integrity of its scientific processes.”

The conservation status of long-tailed macaque and PETA’s involvement in government programs was recently the subject of a U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearingin September 2024. Witnesses at this hearing testified that PETA and other animal advocacy groups had improperly attempted to influence government investigations of private parties and foreign governments for political reasons.

Read the full findings from the Fish and Wildlife Service on the petition to list long-tailed macaques under the Endangered Species Act in the Federal Register here.

More information regarding the NABR petition is available online at  www.nabr.org.

About the National Association for Biomedical Research

Founded in 1979, the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) is the only 501(c)(6) nonprofit association dedicated to sound public policy for the humane use of animals in biomedical research, education, and testing. Members include more than 340 universities, medical and veterinary schools, teaching hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, patient groups, and academic and professional societies who rely on humane and responsible animal research to advance global human and animal health. Learn more about us at  www.nabr.org.

[1] FBR's Role of LTMs in Research Fact Sheet 01-2024 FINAL, available online at https://fbresearch-cms-bucket.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/FBR_s_Role_of_LT_Ms_in_Research_Fact_Sheet_01_2024_FINAL_802d17fd7d.pdf?updated_at=2024-02-26T16:44:17.000Z

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8848615/#:~:text=Non%2Dhuman%20primates%20play%20a,organs%20affected%20by%20degenerative%20diseases. regenerative medicine

[3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-018-0005-7immunology

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9808758/#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20NHP%20naturally%20develop%20cancers,and%20patients%20with%20human%20cancer. cancer research/therapies

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5886327/behavioral pharmacology

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8402317/COVID 19 vaccine development

[7] See Hilborn, R., & Smith, D. R. (2023). Is the long‐tailed macaque at risk of extinction? American Journal of Primatology, e23590. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23590