USFWS Rejects Petition to List Long-Tailed Macaques Under Endangered Species Act

The decision effectively halts efforts by organizations including PETA to classify the primates as endangered, a move that would have significantly restricted their use in laboratory settings. The agency’s review found no basis for the proposed protections, maintaining the status quo for the species, which remains a cornerstone of international biomedical research.

Matthew R. Bailey, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, praised the ruling as a victory for objective, science-based policy. He argued that activists are attempting to weaponize environmental legislation to obstruct medical progress. According to Bailey, the physiological similarity between macaques and humans makes them essential for pre-clinical trials in fields ranging from immunology and oncology to vaccine development. The National Institutes of Health has recently corroborated this view, highlighting the primates' critical role in safety and efficacy assessments for new therapies. NABR continues to advocate for the continued use of these animals, asserting that strict international and federal regulations already provide sufficient oversight for their role in scientific discovery.