Every year, thousands of long-tailed macaques are imported into Canadian research laboratories — many believed to have been taken illegally from the wild.
Wild-caught long-tailed macaques are one of the most heavily trafficked primates in the world. In Cambodia, the capture of wild macaques, often through brutal methods that disrupt entire family groups, has been linked to the global research trade. Canada is a destination for these animals, imported primarily for use in laboratories.
Long-tailed macaques are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Yet Canada continues to allow their importation for use in experimentation. The practice not only inflicts immense suffering on wild populations but also raises public health, conservation, and ethical concerns.
Timeline of Key Events
- November 2022 – After a five-year investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Cambodian officials and nationals for smuggling wild-caught long-tailed macaques, falsely labeled as captive-bred. The U.S. immediately suspended all macaque imports from Cambodia.
- 2023–2024 – With the U.S. market closed, Canadian imports of Cambodian macaques surged, with thousands brought into the country for research.
- August 9–10, 2024 – A SkyTaxi cargo plane carrying macaques was initially denied landing in Canada for violating the Canada Transportation Act. It was later permitted to land in Montréal after more than 45 hours in transit. Despite complaints filed with CITES Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Enforcement Directorate, the CFIA declined to take enforcement action.
- January 2025 – The CITES Secretariat urged all 185 member countries to suspend trade in long-tailed macaques from Cambodia, citing “serious concerns about the legality and sustainability of this trade.”
- July 15, 2025 – The Animal Protection Party of Canada sounded the alarm on another SkyTaxi flight, where macaques endured over 24 hours in cramped wooden crates during a long, multi-leg journey from Cambodia to Montréal.
- August 10, 2025 – APPC revealed that an adult male macaque from the August 2024 flight had died in transit, with records showing an unplanned 27-hour delay at Tbilisi International Airport due to improper landing permits. The monkeys on that flight were confined to crates for nearly two full days with limited access to food and water.
