Biomedical Primate Research Centre
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The Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC) is Europe's largest ape research centre. It is involved in biomedical and preclinical research of diseases that can threaten the human health. It is located in Rijswijk, (Zuid-Holland). It employs about 100 people. The BPRC is funded by the European Union and the Dutch government (ministry of Education, Culture and Science). Before it became an independent foundation on December 7 1994 it was part of the TNO research institute.
| Missing image Aap_in_BPRC_1.jpg Monkey in BPRC |
In total 1600 monkeys and apes (Rhesus Macaques, marmosets, Cottontop Tamarins, night monkeys, squirrel monkeys and chimpanzees) are housed for vivisection purposes. There is research on AIDS, malaria, hepatitis, xenotransplantations, organ and bone marrow transplantations.
An engineer of the former Rijksinstituut voor de Volksgezondheid (RIV) told in 1978 that the arise of unknown viruses is possible. Two months later this was confirmed during a forum of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Academie van Wetenschappen: life threatening cancerous viruses were found in polio vaccinations.
BPRC's bank is ABN AMRO, which is often attacked by activists for this reason, who also have actions at Safaripark de Beekse Bergen, that hosts the BPRC's breeding colony and is compulsed to deliver monkeys to the BPRC.
External link
- BPRC's website (http://www.bprc.nl)