Léo Ramos Animals used for research: LATAM bans the shipment of animals in its airplanesLéo Ramos
The Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC) and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) released a letter in which they asked the airline LATAM Cargo to reconsider its decision to stop transporting animals used in research. In the document, biochemist Helena Nader and physicist Luiz Davidovich, who head the SBPC and ABC respectively, reaffirm that “the use of animals for experiments is of vital importance for research in the areas of biology and health.” The letter also points out that not using animals for experiments will make it impossible to continue research on the chikungunya, Zika and dengue viruses, for example. In a note published by newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo on June 23, 2016, LATAM (formed by the merger of TAM of Brazil and LAN of Chile) indicated that the purpose was to strengthen the airline’s commitment “to the environment and the species that are part of it.” Similar situations have occurred in several countries, where airlines bowed to pressure from animal rights entities and stopped transporting monkeys and mice used in laboratories in the United States and Europe. Major airlines such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic stopped the shipment of animals to be used in scientific experiments long ago.
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