DIRECTED TO KLM AND AIR FRANCE
Announcement of a New International Campaign!
During the last 9 months, 2 airline companies have submitted to pressure from animal rights campaigns and stopped transporting animals destined for laboratories. El Al has implemented a policy not to transport any lab animals and Amerijet International has declared a policy to no longer transport primates for any purpose. Now, after months of negotiations and planning it is time to address Air France-KLM's animal transports.
Why Air France-KLM?
Air France-KLM is the number one transporter of non-human primates for the research industry. They transport animals from Mauritius, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia to Europe and the USA.
How was the campaign launched?
The campaign against Air France-KLM is a continuation of the successful Air Souffrance campaign, which was launched by the Coalition Anti-Vivisection France to assist our international partners in the international campaign to stop Amerijet International from flying primates to vivisection laboratories.
We have recently published an open letter that has been delivered to their board of directors and we have requested a reply by the 21st of March 2011. You can read a copy of the letter here: http://www.airsouffrance.fr/en/air-france/open-letter.html
We have written the letter as a formality before launching the campaign, we don't realistically believe that they will submit to our demand but we do feel that the directors of Air France-KLM should be made aware of the campaign and it's demands prior to the start of formal protests.
How to participate?
The campaign will be launched on the 21st of March, should Air France-KLM not provide a favourable response to our request to cease and desist the transport of laboratory animals. This will be an international campaign and all groups and participants are most welcome to assist the campaign. An international week of action has also been called for the week 21st-27th of March, and we hope many countries will participate to send a clear message to Air France-KLM that the game is up.
We will publish a list of addresses soon for Air France locations and we encourage everyone to organise protests in their area. However, if there isn't an Air France-KLM location near you, or you aren't part of any specific group, then it is always possible to organise an information action such as distributing leaflets or organising a stand. The campaign can provide materials and information to everyone who wants to participate.
We invite all Facebook users to 'Like' our page: http://www.facebook.com/airsouffrance
For those who don't use Facebook, please send your questions and offers of support to: info@airsouffrance.fr
Air Souffrance is a campaign targeting the different airline companies who transport animals to be used in research laboratories. The campaign is comprised of a collective of grassroots groups, all of whom campaign by legal means. http://airsouffrance.fr/en/
Open letter to Air France-KLM representatives
Dear representatives of Air France,
We have been very disappointed to learn that your company transports animals intended for use in biomedical research. By participating in this cruel and unethical trade you bring shame on yourselves and your company, as well as causing considerable suffering to the animals whom you transport. They are forced to endure extremely stressful journeys, which can last up to 60 hours, and, as we are sure that you are aware, many of them die during transportation.
Animals in research laboratories are subjected to highly invasive experiments, which cause them immense pain and suffering, yet, as no species of animal is the biological model of another, the biological reaction of an animal to an unspecified substance reveals nothing about the consequences it will have on a human being. We invite you to judge this for yourself: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4811626.stm
It is simply impossible to accurately recreate the physiological conditions within the human body in a non-human animal. For example, a human neuro-degenerative disease, largely influenced by our lifestyle and the hundreds of toxic substances present in our blood, simply cannot be recreated in any other species of animal. The fact of the matter is that animal experimentation is a scientific fraud that is being rejected by a growing number of researchers within the scientific community due to its obvious flaws and unreliability.
As an association we promote an ethical and reliable approach to scientific research, so it is for this reason that we ask that you immediately cease the transportation of animals to laboratories. The vast majority of airline companies now refuse to participate in this unethical business, and we ask that you now join with them by changing your company policy not to transport animals to research laboratories.
We don't believe that either our supporters, nor many of your customers, would approve of your participation in this barbaric trade. Yet should you not change your position on this matter before March 21st, 2011, we will then be obliged to inform them of your conduct and invite them to no longer use your services.
We await a favourable answer on your part, and we remain at your disposal for any possible clarifications that you may require regarding this matter.
Best regards,
The Coalition Anti Vivisection France
http://cav.asso.fr/en/
