PETITION TARGET: Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni, Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Satyawan Pudyatmoko, and Director of Species and Genetic Conservation Ahmad Munawir
Indonesia has resumed plans to export long-tailed macaques for use in research and testing, putting thousands of these intelligent, social animals at risk of capture, confinement, transport, and painful experimentation.
In 2026, Indonesia submitted a CITES export quota for 1,928 long-tailed macaques — the first such quota since 2022.
A new macaque breeding and holding facility has also been established in Mesuji, Lampung. Operated by PT Biomedika Nusantara Indah, the facility can hold around 4,000 macaques and already houses hundreds of animals.
Wild macaques from areas described as experiencing human–macaque conflict are being used as founder animals for breeding. Residents are also reportedly being offered money for macaques handed over to the company.
This risks creating a financial incentive for wild macaques to be removed from their natural habitats.
Previous investigations in Indonesia have exposed the severe cruelty involved in capturing wild macaques. Footage has documented animals being beaten, dragged and violently restrained, dominant males being killed, and nursing infants being torn from their mothers.
For the animals who survive capture, the suffering may only be beginning.
Long-tailed macaques are widely used in toxicity testing and other experiments that can involve repeated restraint, forced administration of drugs or chemicals, invasive procedures, infection studies, and other tests that cause fear, pain, distress, and death.
The long-tailed macaque is classified globally as Endangered by the IUCN, with populations decreasing. Yet the species remains unprotected under Indonesian national law and continues to be exploited for commercial purposes.
Human–macaque conflict must not be used as an excuse to capture animals for the international laboratory trade.
Conflict is often driven by habitat loss, development, agricultural expansion, poor waste management, and human feeding. Removing macaques does not address these underlying causes. Humane, evidence-based coexistence measures are needed instead.
The renewed export trade is also moving in the wrong direction scientifically. There is growing awareness of the unreliability of using animals in research and testing, and increased scrutiny from regulators and governments worldwide.
The United States, EU, and the U.K. are now actively developing strategies to transition away from animal testing and accelerate the adoption of non-animal alternatives, such as in vitro systems, organ-on-chips, and AI modeling.
Jakarta Animal Aid Network, Action for Primates, and Lady Freethinker are calling on the Indonesian Government to protect long-tailed macaques rather than allow them to be captured and supplied to overseas laboratories.
Please urge Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry and relevant authorities to:
• Immediately suspend the export of long-tailed macaques for biomedical research
• End the capture of wild macaques for commercial breeding and export
• Strengthen legal protection for long-tailed macaques in Indonesia
• Replace capture-based responses to human–macaque conflict with humane, evidence-based coexistence measures
• Support modern, non-animal research approaches rather than expanding the supply of primates for laboratory experiments
Indonesia’s long-tailed macaques are part of the country’s natural heritage. They should be protected in the wild — not treated as commodities for the global laboratory trade.
Please sign this petition and urge the Indonesian Government to protect long-tailed macaques from capture and export for research and testing.
