A lawsuit aimed at improving USDA animal care guidelines for primates in zoos and research labs took a step forward on Wednesday when a federal appeals court overruled a lower court’s dismissal of the case. The lawsuit is aimed at getting the USDA to finalize draft guidelines prepared by its own staff in 1999 to improve current minimum standards of care for nonhuman primates. Current regulations – in effect since 1991 – are considered inadequate and ineffective by most primate experts.

For more information:
Learn more about the USDA’s failure to improve primate care regulations.