TITLE: How the US failed to stop a Cambodian monkey ‘smuggling conspiracy’
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cambodia-monkey-smugglers-04172024141501.html
EXCERPT: As the COVID-19 virus took hold in 2020 and scientists raced to find a vaccine, Cambodia became the world’s leading provider of research primates – specifically, long-tailed macaques. The endangered monkeys are critical to vaccine development and demand soon reached unprecedented levels, sending prices skyrocketing to tens of thousands of dollars per animal.
Cambodia’s farms struggled to keep pace with demand. In the case against [the former director of Cambodia’s Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity] Kry Masphal, prosecutors alleged that at least one farm resorted to passing off wild-caught monkeys as lab-ready macaques purposely bred in captivity. The distinction is crucial from a scientific perspective, since the often-symptomless diseases carried by wild monkeys can skew test results, potentially leading to unsafe medicines being approved for public consumption.
In November 2022, Kry was arrested while transiting through New York’s JFK airport on his way to represent Cambodia’s Forestry Administration at a conference on endangered species in Panama. He was charged with abusing his position to abet an alleged eight-man conspiracy to smuggle endangered monkeys from Cambodia’s jungles into American biomedical laboratories.
The indictment against Kry charged seven others: his boss, Forestry Administration director Keo Omaliss, and six Chinese individuals involved in the management of Vanny Bio-Research (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., a company that runs two macaque farms in Cambodia. In the eyes of the U.S. justice system, the seven others charged are still fugitives.
During the trial, even Kry’s lawyers accepted that there was abundant evidence of an underlying conspiracy by Vanny to re-label and smuggle the primates. In her opening argument, Stacey Mitchell, one of Kry’s lawyers noted that the prosecution’s key witness, a former Vanny employee, dealt with “multiple black-market suppliers who were bringing smuggled monkeys into Vanny, and he absolutely knew that Vanny was sending those monkeys to the United States.”
They argued that Cambodian authorities could have prosecuted Vanny themselves had it not been for the meddling of investigators from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency that ultimately arrested Kry in November 2022.
Almost two years on from Kry’s arrest, though, Vanny continues to operate. As of April 10 this year, the company was recruiting for 10 positions in Cambodia, including managers for its monkey farms, lab technicians and veterinarians. Emails to Vanny seeking comment went unanswered.
Kry , meanwhile, was acquitted of wrongdoing after his lawyers convinced the jury their client was not guilty of partaking in Vanny Bio’s conspiracy to smuggle. His lawyers were drawn from the ranks of Akin Gump, a prestigious U.S. law firm that had been registered as lobbyists for the Cambodian government for 11 months prior to his arrest.
While stressing that they did not represent Vanny, whose owners remain under federal indictment, Kry’s lawyers noted that much evidence surrounding the company came out at the trial.
“But whether the owners of Vanny will be found guilty of criminal offenses in the United States is a matter to be decided another day and by a different jury,” the lawyers told RFA in a statement.
TITLE: PETA Urges SEC to Investigate as Charles River Laboratories Misleads Shareholders Over Where It Obtains Monkeys
https://www.peta.org/misc/campaign-updates-charles-river-laboratories/
EXCERPT: Charles River Laboratories’ inaccurate and misleading statements concerning the company’s possible involvement in an international monkey-smuggling ring may affect its shareholders’ wallets—and in a complaint filed today, PETA is calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate.
Charles River has given misleading information that cloaks its connection to Vanny Bio Research in Cambodia, the monkey factory farm at the center of a five-year monkey-smuggling investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS). The first of several anticipated trials connected to the investigation recently concluded.
For instance, Charles River CEO James Foster said, in part, that the company “does not have any direct supply contracts with the indicted Cambodian supplier [Vanny]”—a statement clearly designed to give the appearance of innocence.
The whole truth is quite different.
Throughout the FWS investigation, Charles River was buying thousands of monkeys from the apparent unindicted coconspirators in the case—Orient BioResource Center (now Inotiv) and Worldwide Primates.
PETA was able to trace records showing that monkeys obtained specifically from Vanny appear to have been at Charles River’s facility in Florida and were then trucked to the company’s other laboratories across the county. We also found that there was a huge spike in the number of Vanny monkeys leaving the Florida facility immediately after the U.S. Department of Justice issued indictments in the case—and this deserves scrutiny from the SEC.
So while Charles River may not have had a direct contract with Vanny, the company very likely was involved in the purchase and sale of monkeys illegally captured from their forest homes.
That’s the truth that Charles River needs to own up to.
TITLE: Charles River launches program for animal testing alternatives
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/cro/charles-river-launches-new-program-animal-test-alternatives
EXCERPT: Charles River Laboratories has launched a new project to cut down on animal testing in drug discovery.
The Alternative Methods Advancement Project, or AMAP, will involve adding animal model alternatives to the nonclinical contract research organization's service offerings, according to an April 16 announcement. The company will invest in AI solutions for finding drug candidates and work with policymakers to make alternative testing methods more acceptable to regulators.
“The adoption of alternatives is a strategic imperative for the industry that requires scientific rigor to prove its possibility and expansive collaboration to drive change,” Birgit Girshick, chief operating officer and corporate executive vice president, said in the announcement. “AMAP is Charles River’s rallying cry that we must unite in the effort to not only build these innovations but also inspire confidence and transform the systems to ensure they can be effectively implemented.”
Moving toward animal alternatives is a significant development in CRL’s business. The CRO is a major supplier of animal models. At one point, as many as one of every two animals used in lab research came from the company, according to The Wall Street Journal.
But the segment is a troubled one. In November 2022, CRL was subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) with regards to an investigation into Cambodian monkey suppliers that were importing the animals illegally, as Reuters reported. Neither CRL nor its suppliers were named or charged in that case. However, the following year, the DOJ and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched an investigation into several of the company’s Cambodian primate shipments, as documented in the company’s second-quarter 2023 report.
As a result, CRL voluntarily suspended import of the monkeys into the U.S. from Cambodia, though it has continued to import them into Canada. Prior to the alleged issues with its monkey suppliers, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claimed that CRL has violated animal welfare laws, citing documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In response to a request for comment from Fierce Biotech Research, CRL Chief Communications Officer and Corporate Vice President Amy Cianciaruso said in an email that the company has invested $200 million in the last four years on coming up with animal testing alternatives.
“We help America compete globally and support people working to cure terrible diseases, including cancer, all with the highest standards of science and ethics,” Cianciaruso said. “The Alternative Methods Advancement Project (AMAP) will highlight our continued significant investments as we follow the science with a focus on patient safety regardless of the agendas of activists and skeptics.”