Unveiling the Dark Side of the Monkey (Macaque) Trade

A Comprehensive Exposé on Corruption and Illegality in Mainland Asia

February 18, 2025 – Sandy River Research releases a groundbreaking 135-page investigative report, “Unveiling the Dark Side of the Research Monkey Trade: A Comprehensive Exposé on Corruption and Illegality in Mainland Asia”. The report presents compelling evidence that the so-called “legal” trade in non-human primates (NHPs) is systemically manipulated in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and China, where NHP breeding farms have disguised their inability to purpose breed sufficient NHPs to meet global demand by, with the assistance of corrupt officials, by illegally supplementing their farms with monkeys routinely laundered from the wild. 

Key Findings

Biologically Impossible Breeding Rates

Facilities in Cambodia and Vietnam self-report birth rates greatly exceeding scientifically established limits—discrepancies that could only arise if large numbers of wild-caught macaques were being falsely labeled as “captive bred.”

Contradictory Facility Data

Satellite imagery and official documentation reveal that many farms dramatically overstate their housing capacity and breeding operations. These inconsistencies strongly indicate the laundering of wild-caught macaques on an industrial scale.

Alarming Volume of ‘Missing’ Animals

Our calculations demonstrate that tens of thousands of primates exported under supposedly legal CITES permits could not plausibly have come from legitimate breeding operations. The only logical explanation is an influx of wild-caught stock.

Compliance Failures of Importers and CROs

Despite public commitments to source only “legally bred” animals, prominent Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and importers continue to buy from Mainland Asian farms that cannot substantiate their claimed captive-breeding standards. Due diligence processes remain critically deficient.

Regulatory Gaps and Corruption

Recurrent false statements submitted to CITES, along with documented corruption in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, create an environment where smugglers and unscrupulous farms profit from high global demand. Regulatory agencies have thus far failed to effectively curtail these rampant abuses.

Recommendations

Immediate Suspension of Imports

We urge global authorities—especially the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—to suspend imports from Cambodia and Vietnam until it can be definitively proven, with verifiable documentation, that these macaques are truly captive-bred and legally acquired.

Transparent Audits and Documentation

All “purpose-bred” farms must maintain verifiable records detailing initial founder stock, breeding cycles, mortality, and morbidity rates. Importers and CROs must insist on proof of legal acquisition—audited independently—before making any new purchase commitments.

Enhance Legal Enforcement

Both domestic and international laws, including the Lacey Act and WAPPRIITA, should be enforced more vigorously. Repeat violators—farms, smugglers, and complicit importers—should be permanently barred from the macaque trade.

Data-Driven Oversight

CITES parties must require more robust, data-driven disclosures—ensuring that discrepancies in reported breeding rates, staff-to-animal ratios, and shipment volumes are promptly investigated.

Implications for Global Research and Conservation

Public Health: Higher rates of morbidity and zoonotic diseases arise when wild monkeys are forcibly integrated into so-called breeding colonies, posing critical public health risks.

Scientific Integrity: Research outcomes may be compromised by illicitly acquired animals with unknown health backgrounds and a higher incidence of infections such as tuberculosis.

Conservation: Unabated wild capture accelerates the decline of long-tailed macaque populations across Asia, undercutting both conservation efforts and commitments to sustainability.

No Further Comment

As an independent research company, Sandy River Research will not offer further comment beyond what is stated in this report. 

Next Steps

We are currently in the research stages of several follow-up reports including:

• Exposing the role of private equity in fueling the laundering of macaques.
• An in-depth review of the NHP trade in China.

About Sandy River Research

Sandy River Research applies open-source intelligence and data-driven investigations to illuminate complex global issues. Our mission is to produce verifiable, unbiased analysis that empowers stakeholders—from policymakers and corporations to NGOs and the public—to foster transparent and ethically accountable practices.

Download the Full Report

A detailed overview of satellite data, breeding-rate discrepancies, and evidence of illicit shipments is available in the 135-page report, complete with charts, images, and citations.