Washington National Primate Research Center

The Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) is a federally funded biomedical research facility located on the University of Washington's Seattle campus. The WaNPRC is part of a network of seven National Primate Research Centers which conduct biomedical research on primates. The center opened in 1961, and as of 2020, houses over 500 primates.[1].

Research Facilities

The WaNPRC is headquartered in the Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Center on the University of Washington's Seattle campus. In addition, the center leases facilities in the South Lake Union and Belltown neighborhoods of Seattle. Research at the center is conducted by a group of core staff scientists, as well as over 400 affiliate scientists.[2]

Breeding colonies

The WaNPRC operates three breeding colonies: one in Seattle (southern pig-tailed macaques), one in Louisiana (southern pig-tailed macaques and rhesus macaques), and one in Arizona (pigtail macaques).[3]

Incidents and controversies

The WaNPRC has been at the center of several controversies and breaches of protocol, which have resulted in the deaths of various primates. These events have led to fines and citations by the USDA.

Pre-2000

In 1995, five baboons died of exposure and thirst at UW's breeding center in Spokane.[4]

2000s

In 2008, the NIH revealed that researchers at UW had performed several unauthorized surgeries on monkeys. The investigation revealed that five UW researchers had performed 41 unauthorized surgeries on 14 monkeys.[5] Komo news also reported that the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) had ignored warnings about these sorts of issues.

In 2009, a primate starved to death in UW's captivity, which resulted in a USDA fine of $10,893.[6]

2010s

From May to June 2013, there were three separate incidents of young macaques being attacked and killed by adult macaques. On May 2, a 1-month old macaque was severely injured shortly after it and its mother were introduced to a group of other macaques. The infant was then euthanized. On May 30, a 6-month old macaque was attacked by the adult male in its group and died. On June 12, a 9-month old macaque was attacked by an adult male and had to be euthanized.[7]

In July 2015, a USDA inspection revealed that the center's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) had approved three protocols with incomplete descriptions, one of which led three primates having severe health issues and having to be euthanized.[8][9] The first protocol involved surgical incisions, but did not provide information about the length or location of the incisions. The second protocol involved skull, arm, and vertebral implants, but lacked information about the size and location of the incisions, as well as what type of instrumentation was to be implanted. As a result, three of the primates used in this protocol had severe health issues and had to be euthanized. The third protocol involved skull implants, but lacked a description of the size and locations of the implants. It was noted in the report that one primate in this study had been subjected to surgery on a large portion of its skull, and as a result, the animal's eyebrow appeared to be depressed.

On December 12, 2016, a primate died under anesthesia during an MRI-related procedure. It was revealed that anesthetic monitoring records were not kept during the surgery, which prompted a review that revealed that anesthetic methods for MRI procedures were partially incomplete over the last year.[10]

On January 17, 2017, an 8-year-old female pigtail macaque died of dehydration as the result of the water line in its cage being disconnected for two to three days. This incident was partially the result of the WaNPRC not having cleaned or sanitized the macaque's cage for 17 days prior to the incident. If the cage had been cleaned every two weeks, as is required, it is believed that the disconnected water line would have been discovered, and the death would not have happened.[11][9]

In April 2018, a pigtail macaque accidentally strangled itself using a chain adjacent to its cage. The USDA reported that the chain was not installed properly. The macaque's social partner witnessed the death.[12][13][14]

In 2019, a primate died during surgery due to the fact that it had not been fasted prior to surgery. As a result, the animal vomited and choked to death.[15]

In 2019, a drug vial was found to be diluted, which resulted in a primate possibly receiving less than the recommended dose of analgesic. This may have resulted in the animal experiencing pain during surgery. As a result, the employee responsible for the incident was fired. Additionally, an inspection discovered that a controlled drug cabinet had been left open and unattended with a key in the lock.[15]

References
  1. "USDA Annual Report of Research Facility No. 0180-DOA-AN". USDA. April 2, 2020.
  2. "Facts about the WaNPRC". Washington National Primate Research Center. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. "Washington National Primate Research Center – Primate Breeding Operations". Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  4. Sandi Doughton (January 8, 2010). "UW monkey starved to death in lab last year". The Seattle Times.
  5. Tracy Vedder (February 26, 2008). "'UW investigated for unauthorized monkey surgeries". KOMO-TV.
  6. Sandi Doughton (January 8, 2010). "UW fined in primate death". The Seattle Times.
  7. Aaron Rhyner (August 1, 2014). "USDA Inspection Report 41151451590704". USDA.
  8. Marcy Rosendale (July 14, 2015). "USDA Inspection Report 12160935300793". USDA.
  9. Sandi Doughton (March 14, 2017). "Another research monkey dies at UW; it got no water for several days". The Seattle Times.
  10. Diane Forbes (April 4, 2017). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082568191317". USDA.
  11. Diane Forbes (January 25, 2017). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082568076822". USDA.
  12. Diane Forbes (November 15, 2018). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082569328955". USDA.
  13. "'This is pure negligence,' says activist after UW lab monkey dies, dogs subjected to pain". KOMO-TV. January 11, 2019.
  14. Sandi Doughton (September 20, 2018). "Research monkey strangles to death at new UW animal lab". The Seattle Times.
  15. Diane Forbes (June 4, 2019). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082569505833". USDA.
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