Kenya Airways has announced it will not renew its contract with a Mauritius’ farm that breeds primates for laboratory experiments. The airline will therefore stop transporting their long-tailed macaque monkeys from the Indian Ocean’s Island to the US.
Kenya Airways confirmed that it had shipped the Long-tailed Macaques that were victims of a car crash in Pennsylvania on Friday 21st January 2022, on their way to a vivisection lab in Florida. Three monkeys who escaped from the accident were shot dead.
After the incident, PETA contacted Kenya Airways, and now the airline decided to stop transporting these monkeys. Michael Joseph, Kenya Airways Chairman, stated to PETA: “As a conservationist, I am equally horrified even though I am assured that … every international guideline has been followed…We will not renew the contract that expires at the end of February.”
Dr Alka Chandna, PETA Vice President, said: “PETA thanks Mr Kilavuka and Mr Joseph and is relieved and happy that Kenya Airways is washing its hands of this bloody business. Monkeys are complex beings whose most basic needs — home, family, and community — aren’t met in laboratories… Kenya Airways’ decision is important for all of us because the global transportation of monkeys also risks the possibility of emerging infectious diseases.”
About 27,000 non-human primates were imported into the US in the 12-month period ending 30th September 2020. After pressure campaigns from animal rights organisations, most major airlines stopped carrying research primates. These include American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Northwest Airlines, Qantas Airways, South African Airways, Delta Airlines, Eva Air, and China Airlines. Air France continues transporting monkeys from Mauritius for vivisection, though. They claim that experimenting with them is crucial for human health, but they ignore that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) noted that studies have shown that 95% of new medications that test safe and effective on animals fail in human clinical trials.
