Malliotakis Urges HHS Secretary Kennedy to Immediately Suspend Primate Imports for Research

Image March 4, 2026 Press Release (WASHINGTON, DC) — Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) sent the following letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to review the importation of nonhuman primates for experimentation and urged him to immediately suspend all nonhuman primate imports for research. "Recently, we’ve all seen little Punch, a 7-month-old macaque monkey, steal the hearts of animal lovers across the world. Yet the reality is that these adorable creatures are often used for inhumane animal experiments. It’s past time we end this importation of these beautiful monkeys for cruel and unnecessary testing. Continuing to import primates is unjustifiable from public health, scientific, and fiscal perspectives. We cannot claim to protect workers, communities, agriculture, or the integrity of federally funded science while importing pathogen-carrying primates through a system that repeatedly fails at basic custody, containment, and disease control." READ FULL LETTER