A change in the political make-up of a German state has resulted in a leading neuroscientist being denied the right to renew his licence to conduct research on primates.

Andreas Kreiter, professor of animal physiology at the University of Bremen, whose research includes the use of monkeys, was told in October that his licence would not be renewed. Since May 2007 the state of Bremen has been run by a coalition of the centre left Social Democratic party of Germany (SPD) and the Greens, who during the election campaign called for an end to the monkey research.

Professor Kreiter is preparing for a court battle to try to reverse the politicians’ decision. In preliminary legal wrangling, an administrative court in Bremen ruled that he could continue his research on 24 macaques, a …