CLE - Donovan's Story and the CDC Monkeys

About

The DePaul Center for Animal Law presents "Donovan's Story and the CDC Monkeys".

This talk from Eric Kleiman (American Anti-Vivisection Society; Chimps to Chinchillas) examines the "significant parallels between the CDC monkeys and the successful campaign to end chimpanzee experimentation, with many of the same arguments, mindsets, and players."

This event will be ONLINE ONLY on November 18, 2026 (Central time) from 12-1 pm.

1 hour IL CLE available for attendees.

RSVP to bdavinge@depaul.edu with your ARDC #, if applicable

Relevant Articles

The Next Domino: The CDC Monkeys and the End of Chimpanzee Experimentation, Eric Kleiman (American Anti-Vivisection Society, Summer/Fall 2026)Donovan's Story, Eric Kleiman (American Anti-Vivisection Society, Summer/Fall 2026)---

Description (from Eric Kleiman)

After over 30 years in animal advocacy, I never thought I’d see the day that the CDC would end its in-house primate experimentation, and then prefer sending the surviving monkeys to sanctuary. I believe there are significant parallels between the CDC monkeys and the successful campaign to end chimpanzee experimentation, with many of the same arguments, mindsets, and players. (I was heavily involved in the chimp campaign for 20 years.) From the Air Force chimpanzees to the “animals as resources” mindset to the deficient animal welfare records of research facility critics, there are significant similarities. But crucial differences help explain why the response from industry to the CDC’s actions has been so extreme; many researchers view retiring the CDC monkeys as an existential threat to animal experimentation. That revealing debate is not about whether a particular sanctuary is suitable. Instead, it’s about the concept of retirement itself, particularly for experimenters who believe there is no such thing as a “surplus” monkey. And how Donovan suffered so horribly in experimentation, how he survived, and how he is now living his best life at Chimp Haven, could be the blueprint for so many other animals currently in laboratories.

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Speaker Bio

Eric Kleiman has worked in the field of animal protection for over 30 years. He was centrally involved in the successful campaign to end invasive experimentation on chimpanzees, as well as efforts that helped put abusive animal suppliers out of business, including one of the world’s largest suppliers of animal-derived antibodies, the longest-tenured supplier of chinchillas for research, and the world’s largest chimp lab. He has testified before Congress, received a “special thanks” credit for an Emmy-winning PBS/Nature documentary, and was the catalyst for the award-winning McClatchy Newspapers Special Report “Chimps: Life in the Lab.” His work has been featured in hundreds of news articles, including in the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, Science, Nature, Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic. He is founder of the research accountability project Chimps to Chinchillas, and is currently senior policy advisor for the American Anti-Vivisection Society.