The U.S. National Institutes of Health late last month halted further funding for a pair of malaria research facilities in Colombia after authorities filed charges against the operators for lacking permits to experiment on monkeys and causing “harm to wildlife.”
The move came more than six months after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals notified both the U.S. agency and Colombian authorities of problems at the Caucaseco Scientific Research Center and Malaria Vaccine Development Center. Both are run by a husband-and-wife team that has received more than $17 million in NIH funding since 2003, according to the animal rights group.
The group alleged the research facilities violated numerous animal welfare laws and regulations, such as failing to have procedures to take care of the monkeys, feeding the animals an inappropriate diet, confining them in cages covered with feces, failing to maintain proper records, and failing to have a veterinarian on staff. PETA demanded the NIH cancel grants awarded to the facilities.