The photograph is shocking. Dead monkeys, piled high in garbage cans. If an ordinary picture is worth a thousand words, this one screams them in horror. Even so, everyone should see it because it deserves to become the image that immediately springs to mind when thinking about primates in laboratories and the airlines responsible for transporting them to their deaths.

A Waste of Lives

The photo comes from a new investigation by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) documenting how Noveprim—a company owned in large part by Covance—has been killing off monkeys simply because they are not the size that experimenters desire. Noveprim abducts wild monkeys from their homes on the tiny island of Mauritius for breeding and sale to laboratories in the U.K. and the U.S.

The sight of the lifeless monkeys discarded like crumpled paper speaks volumes about the experimentation industry's absolute disregard for animals' lives. The monkeys were reportedly healthy, so at a minimum, Noveprim could have had the decency to release them back into the wild—but decency would likely be a hindrance to snatching and trafficking living beings.

Rationalizations Are the Real Rubbish

Air France is reported to be the only airline still shipping primates to laboratories from Mauritius. Earlier this year, PETA was successful in stopping one such shipment, and this new investigation underscores why Air France should ground these flights permanently.

What You Can Do

Please join PETA in urging Air France and other airlines that still ship monkeys who have been ripped from their homes to laboratories where they will be tormented and killed to wash their hands of the whole dirty—and deadly—business.

Wow, that was fast! Less than a day after PETA released heartbreaking photos and posted an action alert on our Web site drawing attention to the plight of more than 50 dogs who were transported on a Lufthansa cargo plane from the U.S. to a notorious Charles River Laboratories animal testing facility in Scotland, Lufthansa has announced a new policy prohibiting the transport of dogs and cats to laboratories. To everyone who responded to our call to action, thank you!

It's a great first step and an important victory for cats and dogs. We're delighted that Lufthansa acted so speedily. But all animals suffer in laboratories, so PETA is currently in discussions with Lufthansa concerning additional measures that can be taken to protect animals of other species.

Written by Alisa Mullins