The retirement of non-human primates from research facilities into sanctuary environments addresses welfare needs at the end of the research career, but involves complex logistical, financial, and welfare challenges.
The welfare of research primates does not end when research use ends. Animals that have spent years in laboratory housing face significant challenges adapting to sanctuary environments, but these challenges are worth addressing because sanctuary conditions offer dramatically improved welfare over continued laboratory housing. Transitions require careful veterinary assessment, gradual introduction to new social groups, and time for habituation to naturalistic environments. The reluctance of research institutions to fund retirement programs reflects a broader failure to take responsibility for the lifetime welfare of animals they have used. Expanding sanctuary programs and requiring institutional funding for retirement as a condition of research approval are important welfare policy advances.