Two activists from animal rights organisation PETA, nearly nude and body-painted as macaques, halted Saturday's Harvard-Yale American football game in New Haven, Connecticut.

The 18 November protest was against Harvard scientist Margaret Livingstone's controversial maternal and sensory deprivation experiments on monkeys.

The protesters held signs reading "Harvard: End Monkey Tests!"

Police intervened, confiscating signs and detaining the two body-painted individuals, along with a third protester wearing a "Harvard: Shut Down the Monkey Lab" T-shirt.

PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo condemned Livingstone's experiments, emphasising what they said was the irreversible harm to baby monkeys and the absence of tangible benefits for humans.

Livingstone studies visual recognition in tests using infant macaque monkeys separated from their mothers soon after birth.

The baby monkeys are deprived of the ability to see faces, sometimes by sewing their eyes shut.

PETA, in addition to disrupting the football game, is airing a TV ad in the Hartford metropolitan area, urging locals to support PETA's Research Modernization Deal -- an initiative to phase out animal experimentation.

This footage was filmed and produced 18 November 2023.

[WARNING: video contains nudity]

In a bold demonstration, two PETA supporters, nearly nude and body-painted as macaques, halted the Harvard-Yale football game to protest against Harvard experimenter Margaret Livingstone's controversial tests on monkeys. The protesters held signs reading "Harvard: End Monkey Tests!" as a plea to cease the alarming maternal and sensory deprivation experiments conducted by Livingstone.

Police intervened, confiscating signs and detaining the two body-painted individuals, along with a third protester donning a "Harvard: Shut Down the Monkey Lab" T-shirt. PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo condemned Livingstone's experiments, emphasizing the irreversible harm inflicted on baby monkeys and the absence of any tangible benefits for humans.

Livingstone's experiments involve separating baby monkeys from their mothers, sewing their eyes shut, and subjecting them to various forms of sensory deprivation. PETA, in addition to disrupting the football game, is airing a TV spot in the Hartford metropolitan area, urging locals to support PETA's Research Modernization Deal - a pioneering initiative to phase out animal experimentation.