International Body Recommends Halt to Cambodian Monkey Trade: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
January 14, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Science Advisor on Primate Issues Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel regarding the conclusion by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat to suspend the worldwide trade in endangered, long-tailed macaques from Cambodia. It will be voted on by the CITES Standing Committee next month. The recommendation should prevent Canada, the U.S., and all 185 countries that are party to the CITES treaty from importing these monkeys and end the flow of monkey body parts, called “specimens,” from Canada into the U.S. Canada has facilitated this practice for the last 20 months, in an apparent end-run around the current U.S. de facto ban on the importation of Cambodian monkeys.

PETA wholeheartedly applauds the recommendation from CITES, which should put an end to the exploitation of these monkeys by international profiteers exploiting these endangered animals. The Secretariat has acted in the best interest of long-tailed macaques, a species being decimated by the animal experimentation industry. The much-needed move follows compelling reports that PETA submitted to CITES officials and a 5-year U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service investigation documenting widespread monkey smuggling and laundering in Cambodia.

In a letter sent today, PETA again urged Canadian authorities to immediately stop allowing Charles River Laboratories to import monkeys from Cambodia to Canada and then kill these monkeys to re-export biological specimens to the U.S.

The trade suspension should be applied to the 1,269 Cambodian-origin monkeys allegedly imported illegally into the U.S. by Charles River. These monkeys have been in legal limbo for more than two years, even though PETA has offered to help place them in sanctuaries. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service must act immediately to release these monkeys to sanctuary, and Charles River must be held accountable for their lifetime care.

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.