Canadian MPs Call For Crackdown After PETA Exposes Illegal Monkey Imports

PETA sounded the alarm over Charles River Laboratories’ recent illegal imports of endangered monkeys into Canada, and now three members of Parliament are raising serious concerns to several cabinet ministers and calling for immediate action.

In a letter sent on October 24, the members of Parliament—Alexandre Boulerice, Laurel Collins, and Matthew Green—call on cabinet ministers to immediately block any further illegal importation of long-tailed macaques for international monkey dealer Charles River Laboratories, including a flight scheduled to land on November 7.

The letter urged the minister of transport, the minister of the environment and climate change, and the minister of public safety to take additional actions, including the following:

• Enforce existing laws, focusing on scrutinizing international shipments involving endangered species.
• Strengthen penalties for violations in order to deter illegal activities.
• Implement safeguards to verify that imported long-tailed macaques aren’t illegally abducted from forests.

“We are committed to working with our parliamentary colleagues to explore new legislative measures that could prohibit the importation of all primates for use in experimentation, protect endangered species, and prevent Canada from becoming a hub for unethical and illegal wildlife trade practices,” the letter states.

The letter follows a detailed report from PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel and a fine levied by the Canadian Transportation Agency against SkyTaxi, a small Poland-based cargo airline, for $7,500 for three illegal shipments of 1,980 monkeys—an amount equal to less than $4 for each monkey—for Charles River Laboratories.

“This critical support from members of Parliament is a heartening first step,” Jones-Engel said. “PETA urges the Canadian government to act swiftly and ban both Charles River and SkyTaxi from bringing more macaques into the country.”

After the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service denied entry to 1,269 monkeys Charles River imported into the U.S. from Cambodia in early 2023, the company began importing more than 6,700 long-tailed macaques from Cambodia valued at more than CA$120 million into Canada.

There’s no way to determine whether monkeys purchased from overseas were bred on squalid monkey farms or abducted from the wild. No single test or quarantine protocol can ensure that the animals aren’t carrying tuberculosis or other dangerous zoonotic pathogens. Those who survive the long journey in cramped cargo holds are sent to laboratories, where they’re tormented, poisoned, mutilated, and killed.

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 the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Note: PETA supports animal rights and opposes all forms of animal exploitation and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.