Animal groups call on
Air Canada to stop transporting monkeys after whistleblower raises concerns
about latest shipment to arrive in Canada
The call comes following
a tip-off to the BUAV from a concerned member of staff at Toronto Airport that
monkeys from breeding farms in China are flown into Toronto Airport. The
monkeys are held at the airport overnight, for up to 15 hours or more, before
sent on another Air Canada flight to Montreal and their final destination. The
most recent shipment of 48 monkeys arrived in Toronto on Saturday, January 22.
[1]The BUAV, STOP UBC Animal Research and Animal Alliance are
calling upon concerned Canadian citizens and Air Canada passengers from around
the world to contact the airline to show the strength of pubic feeling on this
issue.
The international trade in
primates for research is a global industry that involves misery, suffering and
death on a massive scale. Thousands of monkeys are trapped in the wild, ripped
from their family groups and native habitats; others are bred in captivity,
usually under factory farmed conditions. The capture and confinement of such
primates causes anxiety and stress.
Transportation by air serves only to exacerbate these problems and
contributes to further suffering. Primates destined for the research industry
are usually packed into small wooden crates (often too small to allow them to stand
up) and travel as cargo, predominantly on passenger air flights to destinations
around the world. In addition to the cramped conditions, the monkeys may have
to endure delays, inadequate ventilation, noise and extreme temperature
fluctuations as they are shipped on extremely long journeys to research
laboratories across the world.
The BUAV has led the
international campaign calling on airlines to stop transporting primates
destined for the research industry, an issue of strong public interest.[2]
In recent years, an
increasing number of airlines have taken the decision to dissociate themselves
from the cruelty and suffering that are intrinsic to the trade in primates.
These include British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Northwest
Airlines, Qantas Airways, South African Airways, Delta Airlines, Eva Air and
China Airlines. Air Canada is one of only a small number of passenger airlines
that continues to be involved in this grim business.[3]
BUAV’s Director of
Special Projects, Sarah Kite, states:
“Shipping
these highly sensitive and intelligent animals as cargo in small wooden crates
is in itself appalling. For them to have to suffer these cramped conditions for
a further 15 hours or more is shocking. This is an issue of strong public
concern. We urge Air Canada to join the growing list of airlines that have
stopped their involvement in the cruel trade in primates.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011
[1]
Companies/laboratories known to
import primates include: LAB Research Inc, ITR Canada, Charles-River Montreal,
McGill University and the University of Montreal.
[3]
Air Canada claims that it must
comply with a 1998 ruling made by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). However,
in the past Air Canada has made a decision to discontinue the transportation of
beagles destined for research laboratories following complaints from its
passengers.
