Air France Announces End to Research Monkey Transport

The shift is likely to add to an ongoing shortage of primates used in labs, which could slow progress in future COVID-19 vaccine development and other areas.

Written byAndy Carstens
| 2 min read
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Update (August 9): Yesterday, PETA announced that it had received word from Egyptair that the airline will no longer transport monkeys used in research.

Air France, the last major airline to transport monkeys used in research, announced last week that it will no longer do so, a move likely to exacerbate a pre-existing shortage of lab primates, Science reports. The airline made the announcement informally when it responded to a Twitter post on June 30. Air France has been transporting monkeys from the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, according to Science, but tweeted in French that it will stop “as soon as its current contractual commitments with research organizations come to an end.”

Demand for research monkeys spiked in 2016 after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded multiple grants to study HIV, Nature reports. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sparking more demand and prompting China to ban their ...

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    Andy Carstens is a freelance science journalist who is a current contributor and past intern at The Scientist. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s in science writing from Johns Hopkins University. Andy’s work has previously appeared in AudubonSlateThem, and Aidsmap. View his full portfolio at www.andycarstens.com.

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