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PETA protests against Ethiopian Airlines over alleged monkey transport

PETA protests against Ethiopian Airlines over alleged monkey transport
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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently staged a protest outside Ethiopian Airlines' office in the Washington, D.C. area. The protest was in response to allegations that the airline was involved in transporting monkeys as part of an illegal international smuggling ring.

The demonstration featured individuals dressed as Santa Claus and Christmas elves, who dumped coal on the premises instead of delivering holiday cheer. PETA campaigner Mason Melito stated, "This holiday, PETA is gifting a colossal amount of coal to Ethiopian Airlines on behalf of all the monkeys it has trapped into tiny wooden crates and crammed into dark cargo holds for over 30 hours at a time. It’s time for Ethiopian Airlines to join nearly every other major airline in ceasing its monkey shipments."

A video shared by ALX now showed coal being dumped inside the airline's office, though PETA denied responsibility, suggesting another group might have been involved. In response, employees from Ethiopian Airlines filed a police complaint against the protesters. Simple Flying reached out to Ethiopian Airlines for comments but has not yet received a response.

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Ahead of the protest, PETA issued a press release stating their intention to dump coal at Ethiopian's Washington headquarters. The organization criticized the airline for its alleged role in transporting endangered long-tailed macaques to the U.S. for experiments. Kathy Guillermo, PETA Senior Vice President, commented, "Ethiopian Airlines hauls terrified monkeys halfway around the world where they are tormented, mutilated, and killed in pointless experiments, gambling with public health in the process."

PETA claims that macaques live in large groups naturally and cited several violations during their transport by Ethiopian Airlines. They mentioned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had cited the airline for failing to provide proper care instructions for 336 monkeys transported over nearly 10,000 miles.

This protest is one among many that PETA has organized against Ethiopian Airlines worldwide over recent months. Demonstrations have taken place in New York, Brussels, Tokyo's Ethiopian Embassy, and Mumbai. Dr. Anjana Aggarwal from PETA India highlighted concerns about animal testing inefficacy and advocated for non-animal research methods.

In July, three individuals associated with PETA were arrested in Addis Ababa while planning a protest against Ethiopian Airlines but were released after 24 hours.

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