Biomedical Primate Research Centre facts for kids
The Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC) is a large science center in Europe. It is located in Rijswijk, a town in the South Holland part of the Netherlands. About 110 people work there. The BPRC studies diseases and tries to find new medicines. They do this by using monkeys in their research.
The BPRC gets its money from the Dutch government, specifically the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Before 1994, it was part of a larger science group called the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research. On December 7, 1994, the BPRC became its own independent research center.
What the BPRC Studies
The BPRC focuses on several important areas of research. These include:
- Immunobiology: This is the study of how the body fights off sickness and disease.
- Parasitology: This involves studying tiny creatures, like worms or insects, that can live on or inside other animals and cause health problems.
- Virology: This is the study of viruses, which are tiny germs that can make people and animals sick.
- Ethology: This is the study of animal behavior.
- Alternatives for Animal Research: The center also looks for ways to do research without using animals.
The BPRC uses rhesus macaques and marmosets, which are types of monkeys, for their studies. They research serious diseases like AIDS, malaria, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and diseases where the body's immune system attacks itself (called auto-immune diseases).
Concerns and Protests
Using animals for research can be a sensitive topic. In 2002, the Dutch government decided that no new research could be done on chimpanzees, though studies already started were allowed to finish.
Around 2015, reports showed that the BPRC used about 200 monkeys each year for experiments. Because of this, groups of people who care about animal rights often gather outside the BPRC to protest. There have also been discussions in the Dutch parliament about whether the center should continue its work.
In September 2018, some hidden videos were released that showed concerns about how animals were treated at the center. These videos led to more questions and discussions in the Dutch Parliament about the BPRC's practices.
External Links
- BPRC's official website: http://www.bprc.nl
