Family Business, Federal Power, and a Pipeline to Experimentation: The Scandal PETA Exposed First

At a recent international wildlife conference, a senior U.S. government official dismissed concerns about disease transmission in the wildlife trade and opposed new measures to protect animals and humans. The official's family business profits from that trade, raising potential conflicts of interest. Traumatized monkeys imported for experimentation are bringing deadly diseases transmissible to humans, yet proposals to restrict this trade are being opposed by the official.

The official's family business, Chatfield's 4J Conservation Center, sells lemurs and other exotic animals to various facilities and holds permits for trade in endangered species. Despite multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act at the facility, including leaving lemurs without water and rusty cages, the business continues to operate. Questions have been raised about the official's ability to make independent decisions in the public interest due to her deep ties to the wildlife trade, prompting calls for an investigation into potential conflicts of interest.