International Days of Action against Mauritius Primate Trade

posted 20-9-05

Primates are rarely bred in captivity. The vast majority of the animals pictured in cages in labs were once roaming free in the tundra of Tanzania, the sugar plantations of Mauritius or the jungles of Indonesia and China. Traders in these countries see primates as ‘profitable pests’, to be seized and sold to willing labs abroad. On Friday 16th and Saturday 17th September, demonstrations were held all round the world to draw attention to the evil trade in Mauritian wildlife and the international boycott of this country. In the UK, the campaign focuses on travel agents who sell holidays to Mauritius, and in particular Thomas Cook who sell more than any other travel agent.

Protesters from across Birmingham got together and held demos outside city centre travel agents on both Friday & Saturday. On Friday, 8 protesters turned out to shame Thomas Cook for their involvement in the evil trade in Mauritius wildlife. Before long, a lone security guard approached and informed a protester that the outdoor shopping street was private and the management did not want us there! Having previously held a 2 hour demo at this shop with no such warnings from security or police, we were shocked to hear this. The demo continued until police arrived who also asked us to move beyond some bollards 50 metres away. All protesters complied with the request, but to the annoyance of Thomas Cook, security & police alike, the protest then became alot louder, so as we could get our message across to potential customers of Thomas Cook! Cries of `Boycott Mauritius, Boycott Thomas Cook` echoed down the street! The protest lasted 2 hours in total and several hundred leaflets were distributed.

On Saturday, campaigners returned to Thomas Cook hoping that security/police would re-adopt their original attitude to our peaceful protests, from several weeks earlier! A total of 15 protesters turned up to show Thomas Cook that we are determined to end their collaboration with the primate abductors and murderers. Sadly, after only half an hour of protest, we were again forced to move to the end of the street. Unlike the day before, this time we went prepared! We had gathered the names and addresses of other Birmingham travel agents providing holidays to Mauritius, so we got to work shaming them for their support of animal torture.

First we paid a visit to Trailfinders at number 22 The Priory Queensway, where most protesters entered the shop and proceeded to explain to a packed room of customers & staff, why they should boycott Mauritius if they care about animals. We left leaflets for staff and asked them to end Trailfinders involvement with Mauritius.

Next stop was The Flight Centre at 16B Great Western Arcade, Colmore Row. Once again protesters entered the shop and spoke to the particularly nasty manageress who had no problem whatsoever with her shop supporting the Mauritian trade in wildlife for torture!! A very loud protest outside followed, which may well have changed her attitude!! For over half an hour, campaigners shouted about our closest living relatives being butchered for profit, and The Flight Centre`s support of this vile industry.

Thomson at 112 New Street was next on our list. Half of the protesters informed staff and customers why we were there, whilst the rest got to work educating the thousands of people on Birmingham`s busiest street. And finally, just a few yards down the road, Going Places at 117 New Street.

In total, around 1,000 leaflets were handed out during the 3 hours of protests, and many thousands of people will now be aware of the Mauritian boycott due to their scandalous trade in primates. A very successful day out, which campaigners are determined to repeat in the near future. If you would like to learn more about this campaign, check out the Gateway to Hell website.

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