Maha govt allows capture of rhesus monkeys for vaccine research

The Maharashtra government has granted permission to capture 30 rhesus monkeys for COVID-19 vaccine research at the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV), official sources said on Saturday.

`Rhesus macaques' or rhesus monkeys which are widely used in medical research are found in south and east Asia.

Monkeys between the ages of four and five will be needed for research on the vaccine that the NIV is going to undertake, a forest department official said.

The permission was granted on the condition that the monkeys will be captured by experienced personnel, handled skilfully and safely, will not be injured and the project will not be used for commercial purposes, the sources added.