“MIT must be fully investigated and prosecuted,” the group’s executive director, Michael A. Budkie, wrote in a letter at the USDA in October. “A case must be opened with the USDA’s Division of Investigation and Enforcement Services.”

An MIT spokesperson said in a statement that the university “takes seriously the safety and well-being of all animals in its care” and that “immediate corrective action” was taken after the alleged mistreatment.

“Among several steps taken, MIT’s on-site veterinary staff promptly provided care for the animal, and access to the facility was suspended for the researcher involved; the individual has not worked with animals at MIT since the incident, and the macaque has made a full recovery,” the university said.

School officials reported the incident to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare of the National Institutes of Health and the USDA, “which reviewed and indicated satisfaction with MIT’s response prior to receiving the letter from SAEN,” the university said.

In a brief statement, the USDA said it takes its enforcement obligations under the Animal Welfare Act seriously.

“We are aware of this situation and are following standard response protocols,” the agency said.

The federal reports the animal rights group obtained do not name the researcher who allegedly mistreated the monkey or provide information about the ongoing research.

An Aug. 30 letter to the National Institutes of Health from Ian Waitz, MIT’s vice president for research, said an anonymous tip in February “reported the brutal and inappropriate handling of a rhesus monkey” by a research scientist.

The next day, veterinarians noted that the primate had a “minor lip injury” consistent with rough handling, and the researcher later agreed to stop working with the monkeys pending a review, Waitz wrote.

In March, a university animal care committee determined that “the protection of nonhuman primate subjects warranted the permanent suspension of the researcher’s ability to work with these subjects.”

Waitz said the study’s principal investigator informed the committee in July that a plan had been developed to complete the research without the suspended scientist.

The Cambridge institution is “committed to protecting the welfare of animals used in research,” Waitz wrote.

But additional reports from the USDA, which the animal rights group also released Wednesday, cited past primate welfare problems at MIT.

An inspection report dated September 27, 2022 said a monkey was injured in December 2021 “during a handling incident” with two lab workers. A veterinarian later noted “bruising around both eyes with scleral hemorrhages,” along with bruising around the mouth, the report said.

“At the time of the incident, laboratory staff were moving the macaque (a type of monkey) to a chair using a collar,” the report said. “According to the lab staff, the macaque was fidgeting in the chair. The macaque threw its weight onto the collar, which created pressure on the chained collar for a long period of time.”

The investigation determined that “laboratory staff did not know how to handle the macaque during the incident. The lab staff also did not recognize the macaque’s injuries.”

The university addressed the shortcomings by retraining lab staff and providing individual training for the employees involved, the report said.

A USDA inspection on December 16, 2022 identified problems with another primate that was restrained in a chair from 1:50 p.m. on September 18 of that year until 8:30 a.m. the next morning.

Another report from August 2023 said that a monkey was prescribed antibiotics to be given twice a day following a surgical procedure. The doses were supposed to be given 12 hours apart, but after Money got one, he didn’t get the second for about another 20 hours, the report said.

Previously, on May 18, 2023, an employee mistakenly modified a primate seat before securing a monkey in it, allowing the animal to temporarily escape and suffer both hyperthermia and skin injuries.

All of these incidents have been corrected, the reports say.

Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].