ANGER: Protest at the Malaysian High Commission in London over a proposed monkey lab in Johor recently

This has resulted in two British animal welfare organisations delivering letters of protest to the High Commissioner of Malaysia at the Malaysian High Commission in London last week.

Representatives from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) presented the letters to the High Commissioner last Tuesday - upon allegedly discovering that several Malaysian non-governmental organisations were called in for a meeting by Malaysian authorities last month regarding the proposal put forth by an unnamed French company.

While it was claimed that testing in the Johor facility, should the proposal be accepted, would use imported captive-bred long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and not derived from wild Malaysian macaque population, BUAV and IPPL cited concerns on the conditions the captive primates were kept at source countries and that some captive-bred monkeys would turn out to be the offsprings of wild-caught parents, or "F1 primates".

They also expressed reservations that the alleged proposal was a possible attempt by European companies to sidestep possible revisions to the European Union's (EU) animal-testing legislation.

"We are concerned that European research companies, in an effort to avoid growing public criticism of animal experimentation may be looking to set up primate testing facilities in countries where regulations are more lax," BUAV Special Projects director Sarah Kite stated in a joint release by BUAV and IPPL.

"This appears to be the case in Malaysia, where there is reportedly no regulation governing the use of animals in research," Kite said. She added that the establishment of such a facility in Malaysia would encourage further use of primates at a time when the practise was being challenged.

IPPL founder and chairman Dr Shirley McGreal felt it would be inconsistent for Malaysian authorities to agree to the alleged proposal - as it had previously disallowed the export of its indigenous macaque population for research purposes.

She urged Malaysia to end the alleged negotiations and distant itself from this industry - which "inflicts such great suffering on our primate cousins.

Local animal welfare groups against animal-testing

CHIN: No laws on animal experimentation in Malaysia

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals chairman Christine Chin expressed the society’s displeasure with the proposal.

She stated the European company in question was merely looking at “relocating misery” to this part of the world.

Malaysia only has laws on animal cruelty but nothing specifically on animal experimentation. This means there is nothing to govern and regulate what could or could not be carried out in lab experiments, Chin said.

“In the United States, for example, there are clear guidelines and even a special ethics committee set up to look into how animal-testing is carried out. But not here,” Chin said.

She added that researchers could make use of human-based organ or tissue culture instead of resorting to the abhorrent practise of testing on primates.

There was an urgent need for the laxity in the country’s Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and the Animal Act 1953 (revised 2006) to be addressed, she said.

With the rest of the world moving away from animal-testing, Malaysia too should send a strong message by
saying no and to also ensure there is no possible exploitation of the country’s wildlife.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia president S. M. Mohd Idris was unequivocally opposed to animal experimentation and all other forms of cruelty to animals. He said: No animals should be used in testing. In this modern age and time, forward-thinking companies are exploring modern alternatives.

“Monkeys are wild animals and keeping them in cages under laboratory conditions subjects them to continuous fear and extreme stress. They will undoubtedly experience great mental suffering.”