The CDC is finally shutting down its monkey research labs after years of ignoring a tuberculosis “time bomb” that put American biosecurity at risk through reckless importation of infected primates.

Historic Federal Agency Shutdown of Primate Research

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it will permanently end all nonhuman-primate research conducted at its own facilities, marking the first time since 2015 that a major federal health agency has completely shuttered an in-house monkey program. The decision affects approximately 200 macaques currently housed at the CDC’s Atlanta campus, though agency spokespeople declined to provide specific timelines or details regarding the animals’ fate.

🚨 BREAKING: It’s being reported that the CDC in the US is ending its experiments on monkeys! Approximately 200 macaques currently used in harmful research will be affected; future research on primates will also be discontinued. 🐵 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/IUFI6BtURR

— Humane World for Animals (@humaneworldorg) November 24, 2025

Tuberculosis Biosecurity Crisis Exposed

Internal CDC data revealed alarming biosecurity failures in the agency’s monkey importation program. Between 2021 and 2024, quarantine screening identified 69 cases of tuberculosis in incoming macaques, with an additional 16 cases detected after animals had already been released to laboratories. This represents a clear breach of public safety protocols that could have exposed American researchers and the broader population to infectious disease.

PETA Warns of Government Negligence

Animal rights organization PETA has been sounding alarm bells since 2022 about what Dr. Jones-Engel called the CDC’s “ticking TB time bomb.” The organization accused the federal agency of “willful blindness” that allowed known biosecurity threats to enter the United States. This represents yet another example of government agencies prioritizing bureaucratic inertia over protecting American citizens from preventable health risks.

Shift Toward Practical Scientific Alternatives

The CDC cited both ethical considerations and strategic pivoting toward human-relevant alternatives as factors in their decision. These alternatives include organ-on-a-chip platforms, advanced cell cultures, and computational models that may prove more effective than decades of primate studies that have failed to yield practical results, particularly in HIV vaccine development. This represents a rare instance of government agencies embracing common-sense efficiency over wasteful spending on ineffective programs.

Sources:

Science – CDC to End All Monkey Research

PETA – Biosecurity Breach Report