This article will detail some of the issues that must be considered as institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) review the use of nonhuman primates (NHPs) in research. As large, intelligent, social, long-lived, and non-domesticated animals, monkeys are amongst the most challenging species used in biomedical research and the duties of the IACUC in relation to reviewing research use of these species can also be challenging. Issues of specific concern for review of NHP research protocols that are discussed in this article include scientific justification, reuse, social housing requirements, amelioration of distress, surgical procedures, and humane endpoints. Clear institutional policies and procedures as regards NHP in these areas are critical, and the discussion of these issues presented here can serve as a basis for the informed establishment of such policies and procedures.
Keywords: IACUC; distress; nonhuman primate; social housing; surgery.