Niki Entrup, director of WDCS Germany, said Lufthansa had set an example for other airlines to follow. Lufthansa's decision is an important first step towards preventing the wholesale trade in wild animals. Now it is up to other airlines to make similar decisions. The three organizations have drawn up criteria to ensure that only transports of wild animals involving the reintroduction of animals to the wild, scientifically conducted breeding programs to protect endangered species or life-saving measures will be carried out. Owl monkeys were among those species transported to United States laboratories last year.
Air freight is the transport of choice for zoos and entertainment parks exhibiting wild animals.
Additional demand from laboratories for research animals, usually primates, means that millions of wild animals are exported as cargo over long distances every year. This takes place often in cramped conditions with inadequate ventilation and extreme temperature fluctuations. Last September, the Taiwan based China Airlines, the second largest transporter of non-human primates destined for research in United States laboratories, announced it would no longer accept such business. The leading carrier in this niche is Air France, which carried 27 shipments, totalling 3,274 Long-tailed macaques, last year. All the shipments originated in Mauritius and reached Chicago or Houston via Paris.