Photo Op: PETA Delivers Coal for Christmas to Ethiopian Airlines Over Monkey Transport

For Immediate Release:
December 18, 2024

What:             PETA elves will deliver the message “Ethiopian Airlines is ho ho horrible to monkeys!” and dump lumps of coal on the doorstep of the air carrier’s Washington headquarters on Thursday to protest Ethiopian Airlines’ transport of endangered long-tailed macaques to the U.S. for use in experiments.

The airline, Africa’s largest, was named in court earlier this year as the carrier that transported monkeys sold by an alleged illegal international monkey-smuggling ring. Monkey importation risks the spread of diseases that are transmissible to humans.

“Ethiopian Airlines hauls terrified monkeys halfway around the world where they are tormented, mutilated, and killed in pointless experiments, gambling with public health in the process,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA calls on the airline to end these death flights or risk being forever known as the Grinch of the skies.”

Where:           Ethiopian Airlines Offices, 3133 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA

When:             Thursday, December 19, 12:00 p.m. ET

Contact Tasgola Bruner at 202-483-7382 or [email protected].

Interviews will be available on-site and remotely. 

Why:               In nature, macaques live in large, tight-knit groups and cuddle together in their favorite “sleeping trees” at night. Since last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited the airline 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 ground transporter left the monkeys on the tarmac of the Atlanta airport for at least 95 minutes in 85-degree heat.

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, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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