In China, there is a shortage of monkeys for laboratory research. Zhao Shenli, secretary of the China Association for the Breeding and Development of Laboratory Primates, told Sixth Tone.
According to him, over the past five years, the price of such primates has increased almost fivefold: from $ 2,280 to $ 9,600 per individual. Zhao Shenli explained that even those who can afford to buy animals at a high price cannot always find them in the market.
Zhang Wen, owner of Jiangsu Johnsen Bioresource Co., a laboratory monkey breeding company, agrees. He said that breeders simply cannot provide the required amount due to the peculiarities of the life cycles of animals.
It is noted that experts justify such a high cost of primates by the difficulties in their rearing, which completely takes eight or five years to puberty. Also, only monkeys raised by humans can participate in laboratory experiments, which must first undergo a series of tests.
Earlier, Russia registered the world's first COVID-19 vaccine for animals. The deputy head of the Rosselkhoznadzor Konstantin Savenkov said that the drug was named “Karnivak-Kov”. It was developed by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Federal Center for Animal Health” (FGBI ARRIAH), subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor.
