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.”
On hundreds of occasions over many years, Philip Lloyd and his company BioChemed Services exported blood products of monkeys* and other animals to biotech companies around the world, but fraudulently labeled the packages as containing human blood to avoid the attention of government inspectors. His actions made him a lot of money, but in the words of prosecutors, posed “a significant public health threat” and “risked the safety of the world’s supply of human blood” (monkeys can carry viruses and diseases that can be transmitted to humans).
In November 2016, Lloyd pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to mislabel wildlife products intended for foreign commerce.” Last week, in U.S. district court in Virginia, he was sentenced to 4 months in jail and a $250,000 fine.
Prior to sentencing, the judge received a letter seeking leniency for Lloyd from Michael Disbrow, who described Lloyd as a friend. Disbrow is senior director of “Nonhuman Primate Operations” for PreLabs, a company that operates a monkey quarantine/research facility in Hendry County. Disbrow and Lloyd are also partners in a Florida corporation called Flava Partners, LLC.
It is shocking that an executive of a research organization in Florida apparently has no qualms about being business partners with an individual who so flagrantly broke laws designed to protect human health.
*BioChemed has purchased blood from Florida’s Primate Products and other corporations that import and breed monkeys for use in research and testing
With three monkey breeding facilities in operation in Hendry County, and a fourth under construction, it is probably a good thing that staff members from the county health department and Hendry County EMS recently attended a training session to help them identify and respond to biological threats (photo from The Caloosa Belle).
Monkeys imported into the U.S. for laboratory research can carry dangerous viruses and bacteria, such as Herpes B and tuberculosis. The threat is greater with wild-caught monkeys, such as the 630 crab-eating macaques imported in 2014 by Primate Products (the company was the subject of a recent investigation by PETA).
Of course, the best way for Hendry County to protect against an outbreak of infectious disease would be to put a stop to the expansion of the monkey breeding industry. Visit ARFF’s website to learn more.
FollowFollowFollow Home About Humane education Campaigns & Issues Farm animals Florida’s dairy industry Florida’s egg industry Florida’s historic ban on gestation crates Circus Garden family circuses Shrine Circus Nosey and Florida’s other...
Florida is home to three companies that provide monkeys to laboratories for use in research and testing: Primate Products, Worldwide Primates, and The Mannheimer Foundation (a fourth company, PreLabs, is constructing a new facility near Lehigh Acres).
In response to a public records request, ARFF has received copies of paperwork filed by Primate Products and The Mannheimer Foundation with the State of Florida detailing shipments of monkeys since January 1. ARFF is looking into why Worldwide Primates did not file the required certificates of veterinary inspection with the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Between January 1 and December 9, 2014, Primate Products shipped 1,245 monkeys to contract research organizations, universities and government labs. Click here to download a summary of the shipments. Compared to previous years*, Primate Product’s customer list has shrunk. Two customers– Charles River and SNBL— made up 80% of Primate Products’ business.
In May, Primate Products shipped 20 monkeys to Central State Primates, a site operated by PreLabs in Missouri. Two months after the animals arrived, a USDA inspector found unsanitary conditions and a female monkey with “excessive hair loss.” The inspector noted, “hair loss can be a sign that the animal is in psychological distress.” The facility was ordered to improve environmental enrichment for its caged monkeys. (Similar problems were identified during an inspection at Central State Primates in August 2013.)
This year The Mannheimer Foundation shipped a smaller number of monkeys (211) out of Florida. Its main customer was Merck Research Laboratories. Click here to download a summary of The Mannheimer Foundation’s shipments.
*ARFF released similar sets of records in August 2013, July 2012 and in November 2011.
