Ethics Guidelines

Our ethics task force developed minimal ethical guidelines for procedures and participation in ManyPrimates studies. If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.

The following points must apply to all procedures and contributions in ManyPrimates studies:

  • No study conducted as part of ManyPrimates will use any invasive methods.
  • All participating researchers answer to an ethics committee which approves the study and is named in the respective publication.
  • All research conducted by contributors to ManyPrimates adheres to national laws and, if applicable, international regulations and guidelines on research with primates (e.g. AAALAC, ASAB, AZA, EAZA, GFAS, JAZA, NAPSA, PASA, USDA, WAZA, Weatherall report).

In addition, contributors confirm that the following points apply:

  • In captive settings, the research facility provides the best possible housing conditions, enrichment and husbandry (incl. veterinary care) care for their animals. Best conditions are species specific, but adhere in any case to the 5 freedoms.
  • Researchers are committed to prioritize animal welfare aims over research aims.
  • In captive settings, the facility does not currently acquire primates from wild populations, unless animals are injured or sick and would not survive on their own.
  • In captive settings, primates at the facility are not permanently housed in social isolation (i.e. on their own), except for medical and/or safety reasons.
  • In captive settings, lifetime care is provided for primates at the facility, unless animals are rehabilitated to the wild or transferred to another facility.
  • Participation in ManyPrimates studies at the facility is not elicited by depriving animals of food and/or water.

Some ManyPrimates studies have additional ethical regulations. In this case, ethical questions about participations are handled by a dedicated ethics committee. Ethics committees always include representatives for the different data collection settings (field site, sanctuary, university, zoo) but may include different people for different studies.

April 16, 2019