MADISON, Wis. -- Nearly 300 primate experts will gather on campus June 8-11 for the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists.

The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center is hosting the meeting at the UW-Madison Memorial Union. A featured speaker will be Pulitzer prize winner and UW professor Deborah Blum, who wrote "Love at Goon Park," a biography of late UW primatologist Harry Harlow.

The week-long event includes a two-day symposium on the use of common marmosets in biomedical research. Both meetings are open to registered participants and working or credentialed reporters.

UW Primate Center Director Joe Kemnitz said researchers are proud to host the event.

“Primate researchers are known for their enthusiasm about working together," he said. "Field and lab researchers, veterinarians and animal caretakers learn a great deal from one another.”

Animal rights activists have long scrutinized the UW Primate Center, saying it abuses and kills animals during testing. In 1997, a Madison newspaper reported that researchers quietly killed at least a dozen zoo monkeys in experiments. The monkeys were being used to study AIDS. ( Read More )

In 1998, several UW primate researchers recieved threatening letters and razor blades in the mail from an animal rights group, calling itself the "Justice Department." ( Read More )