Nonhuman primates are essential to the advancement of some areas of biomedical research and testing. Some populations of these species in the wild may be threatened with extinction because of habitat destruction; therefore, the biomedical community has been monitoring trends in their importation and use, and supporting various conservation activities. During the past 25 years, there has been a marked decrease in importations into the United States, a large proportion of which is the result of a 1975 ban on their importation for the pet trade. During the same period, the need for biomedical purposes has remained fairly constant. Nonetheless, the reductions in imports have been augmented by the biomedical community through reducing losses during quarantine and conditioning, ensuring a more judicious use of these animals, and by increasing the availability of animals from breeding programs both in source countries and the United States. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
