Activism

A Decade of PETA Victories for Animals in Laboratories: Shutting Down the Monkey Pipeline

PETA has been on the frontlines working to end animal experiments around the world. One way we have made an impact is by working to shut down the monkey-importation pipeline. Not only do the primates in laboratories face unimaginable torment, they also have to survive the grueling, cruel, and inhumane journey to reach these facilities, often enduring severe neglect and sometimes even dying. Consider the following victories we’ve helped achieve for primates:

  • Nearly 130 airlines, including major carriers such as United, Delta, Japan Airlines, Air France, Kenya Airways, and AirBridgeCargo, have confirmed to PETA that they don’t ship primates to laboratories for experiments, either as a result of our campaigns or because they’ve voluntarily chosen to adopt policies that prohibit participation in this cruel practice. 
  • The Chinese company JOINN Biologics scrapped plans to build a massive facility in Florida to warehouse imported monkeys for experiments after PETA warned the governor and residents about the risks associated with this proposal and advocated against zoning changes.
  • Quebedeaux’s Transport is a scofflaw transportation company, one of whose trucks carrying laboratory-bound monkeys crashed in Pennsylvania, spilling terrified monkeys onto a highway in freezing weather. After PETA filed numerous complaints, the company sold off its trucks and is currently out of the animal transport business.
  • Likewise, after we filed a complaint that Alpha Genesis’ negligence and incompetence had resulted in numerous injuries and deaths of monkeys, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined the primate dealer $12,600 for violations of federal animal welfare laws.
  • Following our investigation into Primate Products Inc. (PPI), a company that imports monkeys and sells them to laboratories, federal authorities cited it for more than 27 animal welfare violations related to inadequate veterinary care, neglect, violent handling, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and monkeys’ physical and psychological suffering. The National Institutes of Health—a multimillion-dollar customer of PPI—suspended its contracts with the company.

Primates are not items to be bought and sold but individuals who deserve to have safe, healthy lives. PETA will continue to work toward a future in which no animals are taken from their homes and transported around the world for the sake of junk science.