Shamrock Farm - BUAV Investigation

BUAV Investigation

In 1992, an undercover investigation by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in found high mortality rates among the monkeys from enteritis and pneumonia, while other monkeys were being killed they were underweight or suffered from deformities. The primates were allegedly denied socialization, stimulation, or environmental enrichment, and engaged in stereotypical behaviors, such as continuous rocking, twisting, self-mutilation, and wailing. BUAV also witnessed rough handling by staff, who were alleged to have been inadequately trained.

Following the BUAV investigation, the company announced in 1993 that it would stop buying wild primates. It started trading instead in primates from breeding centres in China, Mauritius, and the Philippines, although no laws exist in these countries to prevent stocks of primates being brought in from the wild.