Ethiopian Airlines to Face Turbulence at Dulles Airport Over Cruel Monkey Imports
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Tomorrow—during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year—PETA supporters will cause a ruckus outside the Ethiopian Airlines departure terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport over the airline’s transport of endangered long-tailed macaques from Mauritius and Southeast Asia to the U.S. for use in experiments.
Monkeys imported into the U.S. pose a health risk to humans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that in the last three years imported monkeys have carried deadly diseases and pathogens, including tuberculosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium so dangerous that it’s classified as a bioterrorism agent.
The 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 it had a policy against the practice.
“Ethiopian Airlines has shown zero regard for monkeys and humans,” says PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel. “It’s flying monkeys to certain death in laboratories and playing Russian roulette with diseases that could sicken and kill Americans.”
Where: Washington Dulles International Airport, Departures Zone 1, 1 Saarinen Cir.
When: Friday, August 30, 8 a.m.
Why: Ethiopian Airlines has transported multiple shipments containing 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. 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 from Mauritius. Ground transportation left the monkeys on the tarmac of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for at least 95 minutes in 85-degree heat. The airline also was cited 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failure to maintain copies of health certificates for 584 monkeys imported into the U.S. The USDA appears to have withdrawn that citation.
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.
