Efficient Cooperative Restraint Training With Rhesus Macaques
Primate chairs, which evoke strong feelings among animal advocates and others, are used by vivisectors to restrain non-human primates during experiments. This study looks at the outcome of efforts to train adult rhesus macaques to cooperate with these devices by using positive and negative reinforcement.
[Abstract excerpted from original source.]
“It is sometimes necessary for nonhuman primates to be restrained during biomedical and psychosocial research. Such restraint is often accomplished using a “primate chair.” This article details a method for training adult rhesus macaques to cooperate with a chair restraint procedure using positive and negative reinforcement. Successful training was accomplished rapidly in approximately 14 training days. The success of this training technique suggests that this method represents a refinement to traditional techniques. Further, this method worked effectively for animals previously deemed unfit for traditional pole-and-collar training.”