The U.S. Department of Agriculture said a University of Louisiana at Lafayette research facility in New Iberia failed to follow federal regulations when it shipped monkeys.
The document, obtained by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asked the facility to correct its actions moving forward after it shipped dozens of primates without obtaining valid health certificates, risking the spread of tuberculosis.
In September, PETA called on the federal agency to investigate the research center, alleging that it and a trucking company violated the Animal Welfare Act when they shipped 34 long-tailed macaques to a facility in Reno, Nevada, in January 2025.
The New Iberia center conducted a routine health screening on Dec. 12, 2024, prior to shipping, but regulations require that no primate be shipped more than 10 days past its inspection date.
Additionally, the federal agency found that on Jan. 27, 2025, the research facility transported 19 macaques to another facility in Louisiana, 18 days past initial inspection.
“As tuberculosis swirled around U.S. laboratories, the New Iberia Research Center sent monkeys across multiple state lines, risking the safety of the monkeys and every human they came across,” wrote PETA Senior Science Advisor for Primate Issues Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel.
Timely inspection helps reduce the spread of tuberculosis among primate populations. PETA, in the August report, said the cases are rising among monkeys imported to the United States.
In 2021, an Ohio-based animal rights organization called for federal fines to be levied against the university after five infant monkeys died due to dehydration at the New Iberia facility.
The deaths were classified as a “critical” noncompliance incident, and the university received an official warning.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now! claimed the university had a “history of breaking federal law” and had paid fines of up to $100,000 in 2017. The university has paid three other federal fines since 2007.
UL officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
