Ethiopian Airlines to Face Turbulence at O’Hare Airport Over Cruel Monkey Imports

For Immediate Release:
November 4, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

PETA supporters will cause a ruckus outside the Ethiopian Airlines departure terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport Wednesday over the airline’s transport of endangered long-tailed macaques from Mauritius and Southeast Asia to the U.S. for use in experiments.

The airline, which court evidence reflects shipped monkeys allegedly smuggled from Cambodia, has flown thousands of monkeys to the U.S., even though it previously told PETA that the practice violated its policy.

“Ethiopian Airlines is flying monkeys to their deaths and playing Russian roulette with human health in the process,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA calls on the airline to get out of this bloody business and urges travelers to book their flights elsewhere.”

Where: Chicago O’Hare International Airport Departures, Terminal 5, near Door 5C, Chicago

When: Wednesday, November 6, 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 who were crammed inside wooden crates and flown nearly 10,000 miles from Mauritius. Ground transportation left the monkeys on the tarmac of the Atlanta airport for at least 95 minutes in 85-degree heat. The USDA also cited the airline 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handler maintained copies of health certificates for 584 monkeys imported into the U.S. The USDA appears to have withdrawn that citation.

Monkeys imported into the U.S. 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 Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium so dangerous that it’s classified as a bioterrorism agent. Ethiopian Airlines transports monkeys in the cargo holds of passenger planes and is the only airline known to do so.

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.