14 DAY TRIAL // China Southern Airlines, i.e. an airline based in the Baiyun District in the People's Republic of China, has recently been found guilty of illegally transporting as many as 1,380 monkeys.
Hence, the Unites States Department of Agriculture now says that, to make amends for its deeds, the airline must pay a fine of $11,600 (€8,384).
On its website, green group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) explains that the 1,380 monkeys that got China Southern Airlines in trouble with the law were illegally shipped back in 2013.
Thus, it was last year that the airline transported the animals from breeding facilities in China to laboratories in the United States despite the fact that it lacked papers allowing it to do so.
Interestingly enough, PETA claims that authorities only ended up investigating this case and fining the airline thanks to a whistleblower, who had first contacted the organization.
“The agency’s action was prompted by a complaint that PETA filed after a concerned whistleblower tipped us off,” the environmental group writes.
The good news is that, fine aside, China Southern Airlines has recently announced plans to stop supporting animal cruelty and no longer ship primates to laboratories, either with or without proper licenses.
This decision is said to be the result of a campaign carried out by PETA and its buddies.