Ethiopian Airlines’ Cruel Monkey Imports to Prompt PETA Uproar at Embassy
For Immediate Release:
September 24, 2024
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
PETA supporters wearing hazmat suits along with two 8-foot crying “monkeys” will cause a ruckus outside the Embassy of Ethiopia on Thursday. The protesters will urge embassy officials to end Ethiopian Airlines’ transport of endangered long-tailed macaques from Mauritius and Southeast Asia to the U.S. for use in experiments. The government-owned airline, which court evidence reflects shipped monkeys allegedly smuggled from Cambodia, has transported thousands of monkeys to U.S. laboratories even though it previously told PETA that the practice was against company policy.
Monkeys imported into the U.S. are torn away from their families, shoved into the cargo holds of airplanes, and flown around the globe to be used in cruel experiments that don’t help humans. The animals also pose a health risk to humans. 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 a dangerous bacterium that’s classified as a bioterrorism agent.
“Ethiopian Airlines puts monkeys through hell in its cargo holds and gambles with public health in the process,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA calls on the airline to join nearly every other airline in the world and get out of the cruel and deadly monkey trade.”
Where: Embassy of Ethiopia, 3506 International Dr. N.W., Washington
When: Thursday, September 26, 11:30 a.m.
Why: Ethiopian Airlines has flown hundreds of monkeys who were allegedly illegally taken 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 cited the airline for multiple violations of animal protection laws, including failing to provide proper feeding and watering instructions for 336 monkeys who were crammed inside wooden crates and flown nearly 10,000 miles from Mauritius. The monkeys were left on the tarmac of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for at least 95 minutes in 85-degree heat. The airline also was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for failing to ensure that its intermediate handler maintained copies of health certificates for 584 monkeys imported into the U.S. The USDA appears to have withdrawn that citation.
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.
