Three monkeys have died during brain operations carried out by University of Hong Kong surgeons on the mainland in experiments branded inhumane by animal rights campaigners.
The surgeons plan to operate on 30 more six-month-old monkeys in a project the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) fears will 'open a gate' for local scientists to get around stricter animal testing regulations in the SAR.
Three of eight monkeys that underwent operations to have their pineal glands removed at Qingdao University, southeast of Beijing, died on the operating table.
When the surgeons return they will use non-invasive methods on some monkeys, while others will have their skulls cut open for micro-surgery.
The $1 million project is regarded as an 'excellent' research project by the Research Grant Council.
SPCA executive director Chris Hanselman said it would investigate the case and contact the University of Hong Kong to get more information.
'We are against animal testing in any form. It is wrong to experiment in general on all animals, and more importantly on primates,' he said.