The importation of primates for research purposes in Australia has sparked fears that national and international treaties on animal welfare have been breached.
Anna Burke, the Deputy Speaker of the Federal Parliament, has written to the trade minister, Chris Emerson, asking whether animals imported from Indonesia and classified as bred in captivity have instead been taken from the wild, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on 13 February.
Burke said that importing monkeys was unnecessary because Australia had several breeding facilities for supplying research animals.