Biomedical Primate Research Centre

The Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC) is Europe's largest primate animal testing research centre. It is a scientific research institute that performs research that contributes to the identification and development of new medicines against deadly diseases. It is located in Rijswijk (South Holland) and employs about 110 people.

Animal testing
Main articles
Animal testing Alternatives to animal testing Animal testing regulations History of animal testing History of model organisms IACUC Laboratory animal sources Pain and suffering in laboratory animals Testing cosmetics on animals Toxicology testing Vivisection
Testing on
Invertebrates Frogs Primates Rabbits Rodents
Issues
Medical research Animal rights, Animal welfare Animals (Scientific Procedures) Great ape research ban International primate trade
Cases
Brown Dog affair Cambridge University primates Pit of despair Silver Spring monkeys UCR 1985 laboratory raid Unnecessary Fuss
Companies
Jackson Laboratory Charles River Laboratories Covance, Harlan Huntingdon Life Sciences UK lab animal suppliers Nafovanny, Shamrock Farm
Groups/campaigns
AALAS, AAAS, ALF Americans for Medical Progress Boyd Group, Cruelty Free International Dr. Hadwen Trust Foundation for Biomedical Research FRAME National Anti-Vivisection Society New England Anti-Vivisection Society PETA, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Primate Freedom Project Pro-Test SPEAK campaign, SHAC Speaking of Research Understanding Animal Research
Writers/activists
Tipu Aziz Michael Balls Neal D. Barnard Colin Blakemore Simon Festing Gill Langley Ingrid Newkirk Bernard Rollin Jerry Vlasak Syed Ziaur Rahman
Categories
Animal testing Animal rights Animal welfare

The BPRC is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Before it became an independent foundation on December 7, 1994, it was part of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.

The main research areas are Immunobiology, Parasitology, Virology, Ethology and Alternatives for Animal Research. The BPRC houses rhesus macaques and marmosets to be used in biomedical research involving AIDS, malaria, hepatitis, tuberculosis and auto-immune diseases.

In 2002 the Dutch government forbade any further testing on chimpanzees, though it allowed trials already in progress to end.[1] In 2015, BPRC was reported to use about 200 monkeys a year for experiments. Protestors gather regularly in front of the BPRC gates and there are calls in the Dutch parliament to close the centre.[2]

In September 2018, undercover images showed animal abuse at this center leading to questions in the Dutch Parlement.[3]