In response to Air Canada's recent move to stop transporting macques and other nonhuman primates to research labs, SOT and some 60 organizations have signed a letter to a dozen airlines carriers urging them not to do the same thing. Air Canada attempted to stop shipping animals a year ago after the British Union Against Vivisection publicized the airlines's transport from China to Canada. The Queen's University and the Public Health Agency of Canada then filed complaints with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) stating that the "proposed policy change was discriminatory and unjust." The CTA did indicate that "the rule change is bound to affect certain shippers, like research universities, adversely compared to others. But the airline has a "rational basis" for the proposed change. Continuing to transport lab-bound primates could hurt Air Canada's reputation and commercial interests.
The letter that SOT and other groups have signed under the auspices of the National Association for Biomedical Research in part states, "Your company's commitment to transporting laboratory animals is crucial to finding treatments and cures for diseases afflicting millions of people worldwide. We ask that you continue your commitment to transporting animals, allowing lifesaving research around the world to continue." The letter also points out that "Access to safe, fast, and reliable modes of transportation for these animals is essential to the mission of advancing global medical and scientific progress. By carrying these animals, your company plays a signficiant role in the quest to end human suffering and premature death, which threathen so much of the world's population."