Benicio Del Toro Urges Halt To Monkey-Breeding Facility In Puerto Rico

by Michael dEstries October 2, 2009
Categories: Animals, Causes
Tags: benicio del toro.
Photo: PR Photos

benicio A monkey-breeding factory, something itself out of a nightmare, has been given the green light for construction in the city of Guayama, Puerto Rico. Obviously, this isn’t sitting well with PETA and they’ve enlisted the help of Benicio Del Toro to write a letter to Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno urging for a halt to the facility.

“I am disappointed to learn from my friends at PETA that a company called Bioculture is proposing to build a large monkey facility in Guayama, where it plans to breed thousands of these intelligent animals and lock them in cages before sending them off to laboratories around the world to be used in painful, deadly experiments,” the actor writes. “Won’t you please use your influence as governor and stop this from happening on our beautiful island?”

As Del Toro notes, even the Mayor of Guayama is opposed to the construction — and willing to join her citizens in civil disobedience should it come to that. To read his full letter, hit the fold below.

Dear Governor Fortuno,

I am disappointed to learn from my friends at PETA that a company called Bioculture is proposing to build a large monkey facility in Guayama, where it plans to breed thousands of these intelligent animals and lock them in cages before sending them off to laboratories around the world to be used in painful, deadly experiments. Won’t you please use your influence as governor and stop this from happening on our beautiful island?

I have been informed that an international coalition of groups–including PETA, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the Humane Society of the United States, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and the International Primate Protection League–has formed to oppose the construction. Public opinion polls have also shown that most Puerto Ricans are strongly opposed to Bioculture’s plans.

Even the mayor of Guayama, Glorimari Jaime, has expressed her concern: “If my people do civil disobedience against this [Bioculture] project, I will be there to support them. … I want you to know that I have never given a sign to endorse this project. Everything was done by the previous administration. Please don’t allow Puerto Rico to be associated with a facility that profits from extreme animal abuse.”

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your decision.

Sincerely,

Benicio del Toro

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →

http://twitter.com/melissak85 Melissa Kay

I’m glad Del Toro got involved. I hope the facility is never built. I believe in eco-friendly products for the very same reason.

Best,

Melissa K
deena

Is there no end to man’s evil to animals?? Good grief. I had no idea this was going on. Thanks for posting, and thank you Benicio.
TJ

I’m Puerto Rican and I’m so upset about this. So sad. I hope and pray it never happens.
http://vegreg.wordpress.com Gina

Just another reason to love Benecio Del Toro. sigh…

Guessing that the company will just find someplace else to build the facility though, right? So sad.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1571753319 Naomi

An important note is that scientists now agree that a LOT of the use of primates for experimentation is truly unnecessary, and that there are more productive/useful testing methods that don’t require making thinking, feeling animals like monkeys suffer.

Sign the PETITION to tell Puerto Rican officials you think they halt plans for this facility that would breed and basically imprison these intelligent animals.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/stop-the-monkey-farm-in-puerto-rico
don miguelo

Stop the Demand, stop the Insanity!
This is business at its worst. They see that it costs X amount of money to procure monkeys for labs currently, determine they can make a profit by centralizing the whole process (for a less amount than X), market it to a country’s politians with promises of economic enrichment, and try to ignore the holes in their chests where their hearts used to be.

Stopping the Demand is the only true cure for this phenomenon.

Stop this facility here– Yes of Course!!– but using animals for research (no matter the goal) is far below the standard we should hold ourselves to as humankind.

Thank you, Glorimari Jaime and Benicio del Toro, from those future monkeys without a voice, and from me.
Lisandra Jimenez

To Bioculture and all related entities: Such arrogance! Clean up your act before you propose to build a facility for the purpose of breeding thousands of primates. Due to your history of negligence, poor oversight, control and follow-up, Puerto Rico now has a problem with wild, non-native and dangerously viral monkeys, descendants of your lab monkeys which now endangers the lives of our citizens. Have you forgotten the origins of Yellow Fever and Malaria! How dare you bring these monkeys to our tropical island where mosquitos are likely to become vectors of unknown diseases. Why don’t you use your funds to clean up your previous mess and collect all the monkeys that you left behind as well as their offspring that are currently running wild and spay and neuter them. STRICT CONTROL MUST BE ENFORCED IN ORDER TO PREVENT A FUTURE CATASTROPHE AND ALL INGREDIENTS THAT CULMINATES IN A POTENTIAL EPIDEMIC MUST BE EXPOSED AND ERADICATED. WE WILL NOT AND MUST NOT ALLOW PUERTO RICO TO BECOME YOUR NEW AFRICA!!!
MI GENTE–LET’S NIP THIS IN THE BUD RIGHT NOW AND FIGHT MASKED GREED AND MAKE THEM START THE UNCONDITIONAL CLEANUP! ps will someone please translate this in Spanish–gracias!