Animal Protection groups outraged by Govt’s ‘backward step’

Several local and international Animal Protection groups have reportedly condemned as a ‘backward step’ the decision by the government of Mauritius to grant permission for the expansion of Biosphere Trading Ltd.

The green light reportedly also allows the company to increase its current capacity of 800 monkeys to 7,500 monkeys, with the aim of exporting 1,500 monkeys per year to the USA and Canada for research, Defi Media reported.

According to Theodore Koumelis, Mauritius is already one of the world’s largest exporters of monkeys for the global research industry, exporting thousands of monkeys every year to the USA and Europe.

In 2020, 10,827 long-tailed macaques were exported from the country, an increase of 40% (3,088 monkeys) to 2019.