The myth of the aggressive monkey (2002)

Reinhardt, V.

Abstract

Captive rhesus macaques are not intrinsically aggressive, but poor husbandry and handling practices can trigger their aggression towards conspecifics and towards the human handler. The statement 'rhesus macaques are so aggressive animals' is probably based on the fact that basic ethological principles are often not taken into account when managing rhesus macaques in the research laboratory setting. To use this myth in defense of single-caging and enforced handling is scientifically and ethically not tenable because it hinders the refinement of stressful, data-biasing husbandry practices (p. 328).