Robyn Kirby
Robyn Kirby is AFSA’s Primate Campaign Consultant. She is dedicated to ending the use of primates in research and brings decades of experience in the anti-vivisection movement. She has a deep commitment to exposing the hidden suffering of primates in Australian laboratories. Robyn’s work includes drafting FOI requests, preparing case studies, and shining a light on the invasive experiments these intelligent and sensitive animals endure. She is passionate about advocating for their protection, retirement, and the transition to humane, non-animal science.
Trapped by Outdated Guidelines: Ending Primate Suffering in Australia’s Laboratories
he presentation will address the urgent need to reform Australia’s regulatory framework for non-human primates in research and breeding. It will argue for updating the NHMRC’s 2016 Guidelines to formally recognise primate sentience—their self-awareness, emotional depth, and complex social lives—as a core ethical principle. Key reforms include full public transparency, mandatory retirement and rehoming of primates, and a phased transition away from primate experimentation in line with global advances in humane, non-animal methods. The talk also exposes serious concerns about the National Primate Breeding Facility in Gippsland, including high mortality rates, unexplained deaths, and confronting images obtained via FOI requests. It will highlight AFSA’s “Honour Me With a Name” campaign, which restores individuality and dignity to primates reduced to ID numbers in laboratories. Finally, it outlines strategies for facility closure or conversion to sanctuary care, while mobilising media, community, and political stakeholders to secure lasting reform.
animalfreescienceadvocacy.org.au
