Charles River Laboratories International | Report on the importation of non-human primates into the US at Charles River Laboratories International

Status
24.86% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
5
Resolution details
Company ticker
LTM
Lead filer
PETA-People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Environment
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Animal welfare
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Health Care
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: that the Board shall report to shareholders annually on the species, provenance (including country of origin and wild-caught or captive-bred status), and numbers of nonhuman primates imported by our company into the U.S.; the company’s procedures to screen for and report the presence of zoonotic disease among these animals; and measures taken by the company to mitigate the impact of such importation on the dwindling populations of these primates in nature, omitting proprietary information.
Supporting statement
"SUPPORTIN STATEMENT: Our company is one of the largest importers of nonhuman primates into the U.S., bringing in thousands of monkeys each year from Southeast Asia and Mauritius. Most of them are of the species Macaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaque). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 96% of the 125,099 monkeys brought into the U.S. during fiscal years 2019 to 2022 were long-tailed macaques.
In November 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)1 issued indictments alleging widespread laundering of wild-caught long-tailed macaques from Cambodia as captive-bred.2 On February 22, 2023, our company reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the DOJ and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) “had commenced an investigation into the Company’s conduct regarding several shipments of non-human primates from Cambodia.”3 Civil and criminal investigations are ongoing as of the date of this submission. The SEC recently announced a new investigation into our company’s acquisition of monkeys from Asia.4 The FWS has also prevented our company from selling 1,269 monkeys to laboratories because the company couldn’t prove they had been imported legally.
Imported monkeys can carry tuberculosis, deadly diarrheal pathogens, West Nile virus, malaria, herpes B, and infectious agents transmissible to humans. The CDC found that from 2019 to 2022, overalL mortality in imported monkeys had doubled and the number of monkeys who were dead on arrival had quadrupled. The number of primates who entered and exited quarantine with clinical signs consistent with filovirus infection and confirmed tuberculosis, Shigella, Campylobacter, and malaria infections has increased nearly tenfold.
Despite the increase in the number of diseased monkeys being imported and our company’s acknowledgement that client demand for monkeys has dropped globally by 25% in 2023,5 a shell company formed by some of Charles River Laboratories’ top officials purchased land in Texas in order for our company to build a new monkey-importation, quarantine, and breeding facility.
Expanding monkey-importation operations jeopardizes public health and safety and could harm Charles River’s reputation and business. Transparency on these critical issues is essential for the well-being of our company.
We urge our fellow shareholders to support with responsible resolution."

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