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Oregon Health & Science University, which runs the Oregon National Primate Research Center, is planning a colossal $8 billion merger with Portland’s Legacy Health system. This creates a unique opportunity to urge the governor to make the closure of the primate center a condition of this bold plan.
A monkey known as Milo was used as a so-called “breeding monkey” at OHSU—rotating through female cages or subjected to painful electro-ejaculation. Monkeys who are subjected to this procedure are strapped to a restraint chair, a metal band is wrapped around their penis, and bursts of electric shocks are delivered to their penis until they ejaculate.
If the proposed merger goes through, the new system will control all of Legacy Health’s six hospitals located in two states, affecting 14,000 clinicians. The ambitious plan is currently under review by the Oregon Health Authority.
This is the same university that for decades has failed to abide by state and federal animal welfare laws at its primate center, which imprisons more than 5,000 monkeys. In 2023, an infant monkey was crushed to death by a heavy steel guillotine-style door in front of her frantic mother, netting the university a critical violation from federal authorities. The school also illegally surveilled PETA and violated open-records laws by refusing to release video of macaques used in some of its cruel experiments, a circuit court ruled.
The primate center’s virulent stew of transmittable bacteria is fertile ground for the next pandemic and poses a serious risk to humans. Monkeys held there have been found to carry tuberculosis and a transmittable form of diphtheria. The animals can shed dangerous bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
What You Can Do
The governor could, and should, call for the closure of the cruel and pointless primate center if the university wants this merger to be approved. PETA urges every Oregonian to please TAKE ACTION today and urge Governor Tina Kotek to shut down the primate center.
After you take action, you’ll see an easy way to share this information. Please ask five friends or relatives to support this campaign!