An investigation has claimed that monkeys at a US research centre are forced to have their penises electroshocked until they ejaculate.
Animal rights charity PETA sent one of its staff members to go undercover for six months at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.
When examining how the 2,000 monkeys at the University of Wisconsin-Madison run facility were treated, they reported that the animals were kept in 'barren steel cages and bleak windowless rooms'.
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According to a report by PETA: "Workers euphemistically referred to certain monkeys as 'semen donors', but they had certainly not volunteered for the painful process.
"Typically, the monkeys are fitted with metal collars, and workers use poles that fasten onto the collars to pull them out of their cages by the neck.
"The monkeys are then strapped into a restraint chair, and experimenters electroshock their penises until they ejaculate."
Other experiments that are alleged to have been carried out include the breeding of monkeys infected with Zika and the HIV-like simian immunodeficiency virus.
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One of the lab supervisors also said that experimenters had tried to infect marmosets with coronavirus, but the attempt led to no findings as 'nothing happened'.
PETA went on to write: "Infant macaques were deprived of food overnight for 'cognitive testing' and cried endlessly when separated from their companions."
As a result of these conditions, many of the animals are reported to act out, as incompatible species are allegedly forced to live together in cramped spaces.
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The report states that a baby monkey - named Cocoa by PETA's investigator - was attacked by a stressed adult macaque, 'resulting in deep, painful cuts to her face'.
Another - dubbed Ellie - reportedly lost part of her ear in a fight with a cagemate, while a third, known only as r12050, mutilated his own leg down to the muscle due to boredom.
Some of the others had resorted to pulling out their own hair, including a macaque named Princess who was forced to breed despite having plucked herself bald.
The report explains: "Macaques are devoted, protective mothers who live in large family groups, gaze lovingly into their babies' eyes, and even kiss them.
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"But at WNPRC, pregnant monkeys gave birth alone in wire-bottomed cages, and their babies were taken away from them within a year."
The WNPRC is one of seven 'flagship primate centres' established and funded by the National Institutes of Health and one of the largest primate laboratories in the world.
PETA concludes its report by highlighting that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been fined repeatedly by the USDA - including $74,000 in April 2020 - for animal cruelty charges.
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The organisation is now calling for the facility to be shut down, reporting that it is still depriving animals of basic care.
LADbible has contacted WNPRC for comment.
Featured Image Credit: PETATopics: Animal Cruelty, monkeys, PETA, US News, Animals