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Former nicotine research monkeys get ‘almost wild' life at Florida sanctuary

By Kelly Healey

Over two dozen monkeys that were test subjects in nicotine addiction research were moved from an Arkansas lab to the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Florida. 

By Kelly Healey
More than two dozen monkeys that were test subjects in nicotine addiction research denounced by British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall were moved from an Arkansas lab to a Florida primate sanctuary.
The 26 squirrel monkeys were taken to the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary. The nicotine addiction study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration started in 2014 and was suspended last year after the agency learned four research monkeys had died.
The FDA has said three of the monkeys died from anesthesia-related complications and one death was related to bloat, which can have unclear causes.
According to the sanctuary’s website, in September 2017, Goodall sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb urging him to cancel the research, calling the study "cruel and unnecessary."
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"To continue performing nicotine experiments on monkeys when the results of smoking are well-known in humans - whose smoking habits can be studied directly - is shameful," she wrote.
Goodall wrote that the study involved placing devices inside young monkeys that would deliver nicotine directly to their bloodstreams. The animals were then restrained and taught to press levers to receive nicotine, she wrote.
Gottlieb suspended the study, and said an investigation in January found the lab lacked adequate oversight and wasn't meeting the agency's animal welfare standards. 
“We are very thankful the FDA chose the humane path to retirement and for providing Jungle Friends with funds to build their beautiful new home and total lifetime care,” the sanctuary said.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Watch video below of monkeys arriving at sanctuary:

The monkeys - along with about $1 million for their care, arrived in November at Jungle Friends, where they were introduced to different foods, materials and experiences.
“For now, the monkeys will stay inside until spring. Once the weather is nice, we will release them into their new outdoor habitats. After living inside in small steel cages for years, I know the monkeys will love their new larger "Almost Wild" life,” Jungle Friends wrote on its website.
Jungle Friends founder and director Kari Bagnall said "If they ask for cigarettes, they are not getting any."
You can sponsor new residents, such as, Riot, Oak, Moby and Gregory, on the sanctuary’s website: https://conta.cc/2EkKBGv
The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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