DUBAI // An animal-rights activist was briefly detained by police after protesting at Air France’s office against the airline shipping monkeys for medical research.
Canadian Ashley Fruno locked herself inside a small cage outside the airline’s office while holding a sign saying “Air France: Stop shipping primates to labs”.
She was briefly held by Dubai Police and made to sign an undertaking stating that she will no longer protest in the emirate unless she had prior permission by the relevant authorities, a security source said. He added that she was released the same day.
Animal rights group Peta, who Ms Fruno was acting on behalf of, said that the airline should stop transporting thousands of monkeys to laboratories, where they are held in small cages and subjected to testing that involves them being cut, poisoned, crippled, given drugs that they become addicted to, shocked and killed.
“Air France is the only airline in the world that still engages in this practice, as many airlines, such as Emirates and Etihad, have banned the shipment of primates bound for experimentation,” Peta said.
Ms Fruno, 27, lives in the Philippines and is a senior campaigner for Peta. She said: “By shipping monkeys for experimentation, Air France is every bit as responsible for the pain, suffering and death that these animals are subjected to as the experimenters who wield the syringes, drills and scalpels.”
She added that no formal charges were filed against her but that “I was taken into custody and told to sign a statement saying that I would not do this kind of thing in Dubai anymore”.
“Peta has done several campaigns in Dubai before, and I was involved in one against the Dubai Zoo in 2010.
“However, we were never arrested, we were just escorted away at the time.”
She said police had made a file on the incident but she was not told that she will no longer be allowed into the country.
“No matter what fears and concerns we go through, it is nothing compared is to what these animals go through,” she said.
“I don’t regret this incident — anything to draw attention to something that is worthwhile because what we feel is nothing compared to what these animals endure in labs.”
The security source also said: “she could have expressed her opinion the way she sees fit as long as it falls under the law, she must have a security permit before doing something like this.”
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae