Each year hundreds of monkeys are transported into and out of Florida as part of the pet trade, for entertainment and display, and for the research industry. In response to a public records request, ARFF recently received copies of certificates of veterinary inspection filed with the State of Florida detailing 91 separate shipments in 2019 and 2020. The certificates, completed and signed by a veterinarian who states that the animal(s) is sufficiently healthy for shipment, are required when monkeys and many other animals cross the state line. Below are some excerpts from the records that ARFF received.
Zoos and traveling animal acts.
It is common for nonhuman primates and other animals to be traded between zoos, as if they were baseball cards. For example, in late 2019 two mandrills were flown from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and one white-cheeked gibbon was moved from Zoo Miami to the Dallas Zoo.
In April 2019, two smaller zoos– Brights Zoo in Tennessee and Southwick’s Zoo in Massachusetts– sold six squirrel monkeys, one DeBrazza’s monkey and one patas monkey to Animals in Motion, a company in Citra, Florida that provides animals for film and television.
Two men (Phillip Dolci and Tim Lepard) who tour with “banana derby” or “cowboy monkey” acts, in which capuchin monkeys are strapped onto the backs of dogs who then run around at high speeds, filed health certificates when they entered Florida in late 2019 to bring their cruel shows to rodeos and county fairs.
Pet trade. In 2019 and 2020 dozens of marmosets, capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys and tamarins crossed the state line as part of the pet trade.
Florida’s largest breeder of monkeys for the pet trade is likely Jim Hammonds (dba Monkey Whisperer). For over a decade, he has sold baby marmosets out of his home in Parrish (Manatee County). He charges $3,800 for a six week old baby marmoset (In their natural habitat, marmosets remain close to adult caregivers until at least three months of age). So far in 2020, Hammonds has shipped at least 17 marmosets to people across the country, from Texas to North Dakota to Maryland.
In October 2019, a breeder called the Smoky Mountain Zoo (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) sent three marmosets to be sold to the highest bidder at the Gulf Coast Livestock Auction in Madison, Florida.
Vivisection. The largest number of monkeys crossed the Florida state line in 2019 and 2020 as part of the research industry. Florida is home to half a dozen companies that sell monkeys to laboratories for use in research and testing.
In 2019-20, DSP Research Services, a laboratory animal supplier in Homestead, Florida, arranged shipments of monkeys from the Orient BioResource Center in Alice, Texas to the University of Rochester and to the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, OH).
In May 2020, a laboratory animal supplier in Hendry County called BC US shipped 20 long-tailed macaques to a Charles River animal testing facility in Stillwell, Kansas. A few weeks earlier, BC US shipped 44 monkeys to a Charles River facility in Reno, Nevada.
In 2019-20, according to the records that ARFF received, the Mannheimer Foundation (facilities in Homestead and LaBelle) shipped a total of 38 hamadryas baboons, rhesus macaques and long-tailed macaques to research institutions, such as the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Bastrop, Texas and the Magee-Womens Research Institute in Pittsburgh.
In 2019, two shipments with a total of 285 long-tailed macaques arrived at Worldwide Primates, a Miami-based laboratory animal supplier with a horrible history, after a long cross-country trip by truck from Altasciences in Everett, Washington. (We’ve written about Worldwide Primates before on this blog.)
In 2019-20, PreLabs, a laboratory animal supplier that has a quarantine/breeding facility in LaBelle, sold hundreds of rhesus macaques, long-tailed macaques and African green monkeys for use in experimentation. The research laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the contract research organization BIOQUAL (Rockville, MD) were major customers.
Last week, a Conquest Air Cargo plane (above) with dozens of monkeys in the cargo hold arrived in Miami from the island of Barbados. The monkeys were imported by PreLabs, a Florida-based supplier of monkeys to laboratories.
African green monkeys (or vervets) are exported from Barbados for research purposes. Trapped in the wild, these monkeys are ripped from their families and forest homes, packed into small wooden crates and shipped as cargo to end up in a laboratory where they will suffer and die in experiments.
You Can Help Please contact Conquest Air Cargo and urge them to refuse to transport monkeys destined for research, and to instead join the increasing number of airlines that have made the decision to stop their involvement in this appalling trade. Contact:
“Dear Conquest Air Cargo: Please stop transporting monkeys destined for the research industry. Many reputable airlines and cargo carriers, including Florida-based airlines Amerijet International and IBC Airways, as well as Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa and Air China have made the decision to no longer be involved in the cruelty and suffering of the international trade in monkeys by refusing to transport monkeys for laboratory suppliers. Please make a similar commitment.”
Please share with ARFF any responses that you receive.
On May 19, neighbors in Palmetto Bay were alarmed when they heard the screaming of birds. When they rushed outside they saw a man roughly grabbing Muscovy ducks and throwing them into crowded cages on his truck. Children who witnessed the scene were terrified.
The man, Andres Canova, operating as Xpress Trappers, is notorious for his cruel treatment of ducks. In recent years he has trapped ducks in cities across South Florida. (Canova recently began a new business targeting iguanas called The Iguana Guy.)
When confronted, Canova often repeats one of a series of lies: that he has permission or has been hired by the city, that the ducks are being removed to be tested for disease, or that the ducks will be relocated. The sad truth is that the trapped ducks are almost certainly killed.
This week in Palmetto Bay, Canova was not only removing ducks from private property without permission, but he was in violation of the village’s bird refuge ordinance. Thankfully, quick-thinking residents took photographs, wrote down the truck’s tag number, and called the police. Canova was cited for trespassing.
Despite the minor penalty, it is encouraging that this time Andres Canova was not allowed to do his dirty business and escape consequences.
You Can Help If you witness a trapper cruelly removing Muscovy ducks, or you suspect that the trapper is trespassing on private property, please document the incident (photos and/or video) and call the police. Contact ARFF as well.
Is your city a bird refuge? Many cities in Florida have been designated bird refuges or sanctuaries. Such designations can offer protection against individuals who treat Muscovy ducks cruelly or capture ducks for profit. If your city is not a bird sanctuary, contact your city commission and urge them to consider adding this important protection for birds (contact ARFF, we can help).
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, Action for Primates and One Voice have received an anonymous tip alleging that Primate Products, a Florida-based importer and supplier of non-human primates to the research industry, has been in contact with a French aviation company, CS Aviation, regarding 1,200 long-tailed macaques it wants to transport from Mauritius to Miami for sale to a laboratory. CS Aviation has agreed to take this on and has enlisted SkyBus Air Cargo to carry out the transport of these primates.
The international trade in primates for research inflicts great cruelty and suffering on these highly intelligent and sensitive animals; including their capture from the wild, their forced captivity in unnatural conditions on farms, the forced early separation of a female from her infant, their transportation in the cargo holds of airplanes and their eventual fate in the research laboratory. During transportation, primates will suffer stress and anxiety while forced to endure extremely long journeys. Packed in small crates in the cargo hold, they may be subjected to delays, inadequate ventilation, noise and extreme temperature fluctuations. Over the years, a number of incidents have taken place where these animals have suffered greatly or have died during transportation on airlines.
Please contact CS Aviation and SkyBus Air Cargo and urge them to refuse to be associated with the cruelty and suffering involved in the international trade in primates for research.
“Dear CS Aviation: Please do not organize the transportation of primates for the research industry, especially a pending shipment of 1,200 long-tailed macaques from Mauritius to Miami with the cargo carrier Skybus Air Cargo.
The transportation of primates by airlines is an issue that attracts strong public concern and opposition, as well as negative media coverage. As a result, many reputable airlines and cargo carriers, including American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, South African Airways, Delta Airlines, Eva Air, Air Canada and China Airlines, have made the decision to dissociate themselves from the cruelty and suffering of the international trade in primates by refusing to transport primates destined for the research industry.
I strongly urge CS Aviation to refuse to be a broker for the transport of primates, thereby dissociating itself from this highly controversial and cruel trade.”
“Dear SkyBus Air Cargo: Please do not transport primates destined for the research industry, in particular a shipment of 1,200 primates from Mauritius to Miami that has been organized through CS Aviation.
The transportation of primates by airlines is an issue that attracts strong public concern and opposition, as well as negative media attention. As a result, many reputable airlines and cargo carriers, including American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, South African Airways, Delta Airlines, Eva Air, Air Canada and China Airlines, have made the decision to dissociate themselves from the cruelty and suffering of the international trade in primates by refusing to transport primates destined for the research industry.
I strongly urge SkyBus Air Cargo to refuse to transport primates, thereby dissociating itself from this highly controversial and cruel trade.”
Governor DeSantis’ stay-at-home order took effect today and lasts until the end of April. Here are some ways to help people and animals during this public health crisis.
Get the facts. Share information. There is no evidence that dogs or cats can get sick from COVID-19 or spread the virus to people. You can leave the house to exercise and care for your companion animals. The governor’s order specifically listed “taking care of pets” as an essential, permitted activity. Rely on the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for info and updates about the outbreak.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Make arrangements with a family member or friend who can care for your pets in case you are no longer able to. Make sure they know about any medications or special needs that the animal(s) may have.
Check-in on your neighbors, especially older adults and people with a disability, and offer to help by walking their dog, purchasing food or running errands. (Click here for a printable door hanger)
This is a challenging time for many charities. Animal shelters, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and sanctuaries in Florida are still caring for animals. If you can, donate money or supplies (many organizations have a “wish list” of needed items on their website). Your local food bank or Meals on Wheels program would likely appreciate donations of pet food for families in need!
Foster or adopt a new dog or cat. Reach out to your local animal shelter or rescue and ask how you can help (services may be paused during the stay-at-home order).
Support your local vegan restaurant! Dining areas are closed, but many restaurants are offering take-out or delivery service. Or purchase a gift card online for use in the future.
Time on your hands? Get active! – The COVID-19 outbreak has forced the cancellation of many Shrine circuses around the country. Now would be a good time for Shriners International to make a commitment to replace cruel animal circuses with non-animal fundraisers. Contact Imperial Potentate Jeffrey Sowder and ask him to discourage Shrine temples from conducting circus fundraisers: marketing@shrinenet.org – Urge SeaWorld to release the dolphins and whales it holds captive to seaside sanctuaries. Click here to send a message. – Ask Canada Goose to go animal-free (the company is single-handedly propping-up the market for trapped coyotes). Sign the petition. – Air France is the only major passenger airline continuing to fly monkeys destined for a life of suffering in animal experiments. Ask them to stop (click here).
On March 28, an Avianca Cargo plane from Colombia landed at Miami International Airport with 20 puppies on board, all younger than six months. The Animal Welfare Act prohibits the importation of dogs into the United States for resale purposes unless they are in good health, have received the necessary vaccinations, and are at least 6 months of age.
Avianca Cargo (formerly known as Tampa Cargo) has been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at least three times in recent years for similar violations. During an inspection of an arriving Avianca Cargo plane from Colombia in October 2016, USDA inspectors found five French Bulldog puppies, approximately three months of age, who were “in distress and in need of immediate veterinary care.”
It is cruel to ship puppies long distances in cramped containers, possibly exposed to extreme temperatures, even when it is done in compliance with federal regulations.
You Can Help Ask Avianca Cargo to stop transporting dogs and other animals for the pet trade. Contact:
Kurt Schosinsky, Managing Director Avianca Cargo Comment form.
Please share with ARFF any responses that you receive.
