Airlines Complicit in the Torture of Primates

Kathy Guillermo of PETA explains that “more than 70 percent of monkeys imported to the Unites States for use in cruel experiments” come from China, and Air China’s decision to stop this practice will make it significantly harder for U.S. lab testers to obtain these “victims.”

However, PETA sources list other airlines that still ship primates to U.S. laboratories, such as Air France, China Eastern Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Vietnam airlines, and perhaps most surprisingly, United Airlines. Despite the progress of Air China, thousands of monkeys will be stuffed into small, hazardous crates in cargo holds only to be soon subjected to painful experiments in laboratory facilities this year, unless we can raise awareness and take action against both the unethical importing of monkeys and the unethical use of animals in product testing.

Isn’t it unbelievable that in this day and age, we are still essentially practicing slavery? These monkeys are torn from their homes, shipped tortuously across the ocean, and are used as objects to be used and abused to fulfill our selfish desires. As long as we condone this kind of torture and exploitation of living creatures, we haven’t abolished slavery. Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories and Covance are two of the U.S.’ biggest primate importers, and if you aren’t appalled yet by the treatment of monkeys, check out the findings by a PETA investigator or watch the video if you can handle it.

The very least we can do is to not book a flight with an airline that imports monkeys. More steps to take include e-mailing or “tweeting” at the airlines directly and protesting against the testing laboratories. Until this barbaric and tyrannical behavior stops and we progress into peace and freedom for all living beings, how can we ever consider ourselves human “civilization?”