Please Speak Out for the Monkeys Today! Reach Out to the Canadian Government!
Image: A long-tailed macaque from Cambodia looks out of a wooden transport crate. Animal Rights Belgium.
The information below and important action is from The Animal Protection Party of Canada. Our thanks to them for their excellent work on this issue.
From Animal Protection Party of Canada, Sent Feb. 11, 2025
Last week, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Standing Committee met in Geneva, Switzerland. One item discussed was the CITES Secretariat’s recommendation to suspend trade of long-tailed macaques from Cambodia. The recommendation was in response to the country’s failure to comply with the Convention and prevent the laundering of wild long-tailed macaques – an endangered species.
We are sad to report that after an appeal by the U.S. government and with support from the Canadian government, the Standing Committee voted to delay a decision on the Secretariat’s recommendation.
In addition to the appeals, an 11th hour submission by Cambodia meant that the CITES Animals Committee (which handles technical analysis of submissions) did not have time to review the material. Because of this, the Committee voted to defer the discussion to the next meeting of the Standing Committee. A further vote recommended that the Secretariat conduct a tour of Cambodia’s breeding facilities to verify the accuracy of its claims – providing, as usual in such cases, that funding is available.
Despite the mountain of evidence that clearly shows Cambodia has a history of falsifying export paperwork and laundering tens of thousands of wild-caught monkeys into the laboratory supply chain, the Committee decided to delay its decision and rely on further inspection.
As this discussion was taking place, far away in a cold, dark cargo hold, hundreds of endangered monkeys were being transported from Cambodia to Canada where they will endure short, pain-filled lives in an American-owned lab.
The CITES Standing Committee, the U.S. and Canadian authorities have failed these sensitive, gentle beings. Help us make sure that this does not happen again. Join us in urging the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to fulfill Canada’s obligations under the international treaty to protect these endangered monkeys and support the CITES Secretariat’s call for a trade suspension against Cambodia when the CITES Parties meet in November.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Animal Protection Party wants Canada to ban the importation of this endangered species. Allowing their trade further diminishes their chances of long-term survival.
Please contact the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada to express your opinion. Letters mailed to the Minister can be sent postage-free. Personalized letters are best, but you can also use our sample below, or a form letter by clicking here to download a pdf.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada
The Honourable Mr. Steven Guilbeault
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
T/ 613-992-6779
F/ 613-995-8461
Dear Minister,
As I am sure you are aware, Canada has been allowing the importation of long-tailed macaques, an endangered species, for use in biomedical research.
Long-tailed macaques are the monkey species most heavily traded for use in primate experimentation and the country Canada most frequently imports these monkeys from is Cambodia.
In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature changed the classification of long-tailed macaques from “vulnerable” to “endangered,” pointing to their exploitation by the experimentation industry as a factor in the species’ plummeting numbers.
In February 2023, the United States stopped accepting monkeys from Cambodia because authorities had gathered evidence showing export permits were falsified by claiming wild-caught monkeys were captive-bred. I believe Canada has a duty to apply the same level of scrutiny as the United States over these imports to protect this endangered species.
From 2022 to 2023, imports of Cambodian monkeys to Canada increased by nearly 350%. Why are you allowing this to continue?
Please, show the world that Canada will not be complicit in the commercial exploitation of an endangered species, and shut down the trade of these endangered monkeys.
I respectfully urge you to order an immediate suspension of all monkey imports from Cambodia.
I look forward to your reply.
Many thanks for your advocacy,
Lia Laskaris
Chief Agent
Animal Protection Party of Canada
E/ lia@animalprotectionparty.ca
W/ www.animalprotectionparty.ca
