An incident in the united states has put to light the plight of monkeys that are often transported from Africa and used for lab tests
100 monkeys that had been transported by Kenya Airways from Mauritius to the United States were involved in car crash in Pennsylvania. Of four monkeys that managed to escape one was almost immediately recovered, however 3 others had to be tracked before being found and reportedly euthanized
A woman involved in the accident and who got close enough to be spat at by the monkeys got ill and has had to receive treatment
Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was up in arms after learning of the incident and of Kenya Airways’ involvement in the transport process from Mauritius. This was the response from KQ board chairman Micheal Joseph:
“As a conservationist, I am equally horrified even though I am assured that ..every international guideline has been followed.”
He went on to say that the airline will not renew business with the monkey breeding farm in Mauritius
“We will not renew the contract that expires at the end of February,”
PETA is concerned that the transport of lab test monkeys from Africa happens with no oversight.
Cynomolgus monkeys are often used in medical research because their DNA resembles that of humans, and they have been in high demand since the beginning of the pandemic for testing vaccines.
