Ethiopian Airlines to Face Turbulence at JFK Airport Over Cruel Monkey Imports
For Immediate Release:
December 6, 2024
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Travelers at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport will get an eyeful Monday, when PETA supporters cause a ruckus around the Ethiopian Airlines departure terminal, alerting passengers to the airline’s reckless transport of endangered long-tailed macaques to the U.S. for experiments.
The airline, which trial evidence revealed has shipped monkeys who were allegedly smuggled and laundered, has flown thousands of monkeys to the U.S. in the cargo holds of passengers planes, risking the spread of diseases that are transmissible to humans.
“Passengers and airline staff must face the harsh realities of the global monkey trade: Ethiopian Airlines is transporting thousands of potentially diseased, injured, and frightened macaques across the globe ,” says PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel. “These monkeys are sold to laboratories, where they face lives of suffering and inevitable death.”
Where: Outside Ethiopian Airlines Departures, Terminal 7 at JFK International Airport, Queens, New York
When: Monday, December 9, 6 p.m.
Why: In nature, macaques live in large, tight-knit groups and cuddle together in their favorite “sleeping trees” at night. Ethiopian Airlines has transported hundreds of monkeys allegedly stolen from their forest homes, according to testimony and evidence presented in the recent federal trial of accused Cambodian monkey smuggler Masphal Kry.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited Ethiopian Airlines for multiple violations of animal protection laws, including failing to provide proper feeding and watering instructions for 336 monkeys crammed inside wooden crates and flown nearly 10,000 miles. The monkeys were left on the tarmac of the Atlanta airport for at least 95 minutes in 85-degree heat. The airline was cited by the USDA for its intermediate handler’s apparent failure to maintain copies of health certificates for 584 monkeys imported into the U.S. The USDA appears to have withdrawn that citation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that in the past three years, imported monkeys have carried deadly diseases and pathogens, including tuberculosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium so dangerous it’s classified as a bioterrorism agent.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
