LORETTA DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A NAME — SHE HAD A NUMBER.
Tattooed in black ink across her chest, the numbers 1005158 only became more visible as her hair fell out in patches, likely as a result of the stress that she endured at Primate Products, Inc. (PPI), a notorious facility that imports and warehouses primates before selling them to laboratories. A PETA eyewitness gave Loretta a name, likely the first act of compassion she’d ever been shown.
At PPI, Loretta was locked in a pen with monkeys who injured and apparently terrified her for more than 22 weeks. Even though PETA’s eyewitness submitted at least 23 written and verbal reports to PPI staff, the facility failed to take action to protect Loretta. Instead, she was repeatedly attacked, leaving her face marked with stinging lacerations. She appeared to be afraid of the other monkeys in the enclosure and had lost much of her hair—a sign that she was likely experiencing extreme psychological distress. Being submissive, Loretta often didn’t get enough food to eat, and she was thin. When it was cold, the other monkeys would huddle together, but she shivered by herself, as no one would huddle with her.
Listen as actors read emotional passages from the eyewitness’ notes about Loretta
PPI confined monkeys like Loretta with other traumatized and sometimes apparently incompatible pen-mates for months. The severe psychological stress of being imprisoned in near-barren environments and given virtually nothing to do likely contributed to fights among the animals. With no escape, subordinate monkeys lived in near-constant fear of being violently handled by PPI staff or attacked by other monkeys.
Dozens of reports documented that monkeys at PPI were attacked, were held down and mounted, and had open wounds and extensive hair loss.
Loretta was just one.
Urge PPI to Release Information on Loretta
A team of six U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors confirmed PETA’s findings, citing PPI for at least 25 violations of nine animal-welfare regulations. (View the reports here and here.) The USDA opened an investigation of the facility. Three years later, that investigation is still ongoing.
Take Action Now: Urge PPI to release information about Loretta’s present-day whereabouts. Using the form below, join the growing chorus of people asking, #WhereIsLoretta?