Non-human primates are used in biomedical research under strict regulations, with welfare concerns that reflect their cognitive complexity and social sophistication.
The welfare of primates in research settings presents the most acute ethical tensions in laboratory animal science. Macaques, marmosets, and other non-human primates used in research have rich social lives, complex cognitive abilities, and strong emotional responses - all characteristics that both make them valuable for certain types of biomedical research and make welfare compromise especially ethically significant. The regulatory framework in the UK and EU is among the most stringent in the world: any primate research must demonstrate exceptional justification, undergo ethical review, be conducted only by trained specialists, and be subject to regular welfare assessment. Social housing is mandatory, and environmental enrichment programmes aim to provide cognitive stimulation. Despite these protections, primates in research inevitably experience welfare compromise through social disruption (capture, transport, introduction to new groups), procedural stress, and the fundamental constraint of captivity for animals with extensive natural ranging behaviour. Investment in developing non-primate alternatives has reduced but not eliminated primate use, particularly in safety pharmacology and infectious disease research.