CITES committee assesses long tailed macaque breeding

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Standing Committee of CITES, an international body responsible for monitoring trade in animal species, announced the results of its review of animal breeding practices in Cambodia, thanking Cambodia for providing extensive data and relying on science. The report, released on Nov. 12, 2025 in advance of an upcoming Standing Committee meeting, is available at https://cites.org/eng/sc/79/agenda-documents.

Among other positive findings, the report states that Cambodia has customs and inspection procedures in place that are "well-coordinated and integrated through the national single window system, with inspections and documentation supporting transparency." The report goes on to commend Cambodia, recognizing "Cambodia's openness and cooperation" throughout the review process and acknowledging "the country's commitment to improving its legislative framework, enhancing traceability, and aligning with CITES procedures."

Long-tailed macaques are integral to biomedical research globally due to their close biological similarity to humans. Long-tailed macaques are the most commonly studied nonhuman primate species for drug safety assessment. Research with long-tailed macaques has been crucial for advances in regenerative medicine, immunology, cancer, vaccine development and pharmacology.

Cambodia was historically a major supplier of animal research models to the United States; however, allegations of illegal activity by special interest groups in the U.S. served to reduce imports from Cambodia. The unavailability of research models has put U.S. medical research at risk and has impacted the ability of U.S. researchers to develop new treatments.

"NABR welcomes the latest report from CITES finding that Cambodia is in compliance with international laws and requirements," NABR President Matthew R. Bailey said. "This report affirms Cambodia's compliance and demonstrates that animal research models desperately needed in the United States may be obtained from this country."

"NABR thanks Cambodia for its openness and cooperation throughout this process and stands ready to work with United States and other countries on these matters," Bailey added.

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