Thank Air France for Affirming Its Commitment to Biomedical Research
Air France has affirmatively stated its commitment to transporting animals used in biomedical research. You can read the press statement here. To encourage Air France to continue to ship these animals, please use the letter below to contact the CEO of Air France and thank him for continuing to support vital research that could lead to medical discoveries and treatments.
Please consider personalizing your letter. Items you may wish to include are: whether you are a frequent traveler, whether you are an elite member of their reward program or a member of the reward programs of any of the SkyTeam airline alliance (which includes Air France, Delta, KLM, Alitalia, Korean Air, and others), or any other relevant information about your work.
Please email the CEO, Mr. Jean-Cyril Spinetta, directly at jcspinetta@airfrance.fr and don’t forget to bcc SfN at advocacy@sfn.org.
Thank You for Affirming Your Commitment to Biomedical Research
Dear Mr. Spinetta,
As a scientist, I want to thank Air France for affirmatively committing to shipping live animals for use in biomedical research. Animal models—from fruit flies to rodents to primates—are essential to advancing our understanding of and eventually finding cures for diseases and disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injury. If animal rights extremists continue to sway airlines into banning this important service, the effects will be devastating.
As you are aware, airline transportation ensures that laboratory animals are available for life-saving biomedical research. Universities, medical and veterinary schools, and research centers are all dependent on your airline to continue their groundbreaking research. A small but vocal group of animal rights extremists have been pushing this issue in their attempts to halt all research involving animal models. Their numbers are dwarfed by the millions who are dependent on the discoveries brought about by humane, well-regulated animal research—not to mention the tens of thousands of scientists who rely on air travel to attend scientific conferences and to conduct their research.
The significant role that animal models play in lifesaving research is undeniable. Almost every major medical advance in the last century was made possible by animal research. Animal research around the globe is heavily regulated, as it should be. All around the globe, scientists involved with animal research understand that they must use animals appropriately and humanely, using as few animals and as many alternative techniques as possible to achieve reliable results.
Progress in biomedical research requires the use of animal models. Again, thank you for your continued commitment to scientific research and the health of patients through the shipment of live animals for research.
