China Airlines Stops Primate Imports for Research; Move Praised by American and British Animal Advocates.

Business Editors & Environmental Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2000

The Animal Protection Institute (API) applauds China Airlines for its decision to stop transporting nonhuman primates destined for laboratory research. The Taiwan-based airline changed its policy in response to information about the mistreatment of animals supplied by API and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV). Last June, the two organizations joined forces in a transatlantic campaign to end the international trade in primates for use in experimentation.

A letter from China Airlines dated September 11 states, "effective September 5th, 2000, China Airlines will not accept live primates destined for experimentation as cargo."

Commercial airlines transport more than 10,000 nonhuman primates to the United States annually -- many are trapped and taken from the wild. The journey typically covers thousands of miles, with several stops, and may last 72 hours. Animals shipped as cargo for long distances generally suffer from cramped conditions, inadequate ventilation, and extreme temperature fluctuations, often ending with illness or even death. Most primates are imported to the U.S. not by research institutions but by dealers who sell the animals for profit.

"API and BUAV commend China Airlines for recognizing the consequences of its actions," said Alan Berger, executive director of the Animal Protection Institute a national non-profit animal advocacy organization based in Sacramento, CA. "The decision makes both ethical and economic sense. People become outraged when they discover they may be flying with formerly wild, research- bound monkeys in the cargo hold of the plane."

China Airlines was the second largest transporter of primates to the U.S. in 1999. Air France, the largest carrier with more than 3,000 monkeys imported, has repeatedly rejected pleas from animal advocates to end the activity. Among U.S.-based airlines, Delta Airlines implemented an embargo in June, joining TWA, United, and Continental in refusing to transport monkeys to the U.S. for experimentation. However, American Airlines continues to ship primates for research, and Northwest Airlines, although not involved in transporting animals in the past two years, has also refused to initiate an embargo.

Continued Berger, "We urge Air France and other airlines still importing primates to follow the compassionate example of China Airlines and remove themselves from an industry that causes animal misery on a massive scale."