A recent Israeli Supreme Court decision has temporarily barred the shipment of 90 monkeys to research labs in the United States.  Mazor Farm, where the monkeys are being farmed, must now provide documentation proving it operates within Israel’s legal framework for captive animals.

Many people imagine the typical Israeli farm as a peaceful, lush, agrarian landscape.  In the case of Mazor Farm, they would be wrong.

Founded in 1991, this breeding facility for laboratory monkeys has become a primary target of Israel’s animal rights community.  Mazor Farm receives monkeys caught in the wild predominantly from the island of Mauritius.  These animals are then bred and the offspring sold to laboratories around the world for use in various types of research.  The facility currently holds an estimated 1,500 long tailed macaque monkeys.

Let the Animals Live, an Israel-based animal rights group, petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court in March, asking it to overturn a Central District Court decision allowing Mazor Farm to export 90 female long-tailed macaques to Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories in Seattle.

At issue is a subtle question of Israeli law.  Regulations permit animal export only for medical research whose goal is either to save human lives or reduce human suffering.  The Israel Nature and Parks Authority, which issues the relevant export permits, told the court it plans to reexamine whether Mazor Farm’s application met the necessary criteria.  The Israeli Supreme Court subsequently issued a temporary block of the export.

To read the rest of this news click here:-http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/05/lab-monkeys-israel/