Primate research moves to China

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Primate research moves to China

 

4 November 2004

 

The Kunming Institute of Zoology in south-western

China is just one of several primate research

facilities that are attracting Western researchers to

the country. With 1,400 monkeys including 300 in

isolation, it held scientists in awe at a recent

symposium on biomedical research using primates as

research models.

 

David Cyranoski describes the current trend among

researchers using primate models to shift their

studies to China, either by taking up positions there,

or through collaborations. Low costs, fewer

regulations, and the absence of animal rights groups

make the move an attractive prospect.

 

But some worry that these factors could cause problems

in the future. Activists say the same ethical concerns

that have arisen in Western primate facilities are

also valid in China, where there are fewer

institutional ethics review boards. Weizhi Ji,

director of the Kunming Institute, and his

collaborators, however, say ethical standards at the

Kunming institute match those in Europe and the United

States.

 

Reference: Nature 432, 3 (2004)