Kenyan flag carrier Kenya Airways will not renew its contract with an undisclosed breeding farm that paid the airline to ship monkeys from Mauritius to a research laboratory in New York, where they were used in medical experiments.
The decision comes after a truck towing a trailer with monkeys was involved in a crash on a Pennsylvania highway.
In an interview with AP News, Kenya Airways CEO Michael Joseph said that following the contract, the carrier flew 100 long-tailed Macaques from Mauritius to New York (JFK) on January 21, 2022.
On arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the animals were put into a truck trailer for further transportation. However, the truck collided with a dump truck in Pennsylvania later that day.
Due to the crash, which is currently being investigated by the US Department of Agriculture, some of the monkeys were injured. Several escaped and were caught by Pennsylvania State Police. Unfortunately, some of the macaques were “shot and killed” during the catch, according to media reports.
Following the incident, American animal rights organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contacted the Kenya Airways CEO regarding the treatment of the macaques.
In response to the recent event, Kenya Airways announced that it will not renew its shipment contract with the breeding facility. The current contract expires in February 2022.