latina / CC

You probably know him from his roles in movies such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Traffic, 21 Grams, Sin City (my personal favorite), and many others. He's also won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and a SAG award. Now actor Benicio del Toro is adding one more bullet point to his résumé: animal defender.

The Puerto Rican actor has penned a letter to the governor of Puerto Rico urging him to halt the construction plans for Bioculture's massive monkey-breeding facility. As you might remember, Bioculture—a company that supplies primates to laboratories—plans to capture monkeys from their homes in Mauritius, hold them captive in Puerto Rico, and then sell thousands of their babies for use in painful and deadly experiments around the world.

You can read Benicio's full letter here. To write your own respectful letter to the governor to ask him to stop Bioculture, please click here.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

thepatrioticgentleman / CC

According to news reports out of Nepal, that country's forest minister, Dipak Bohara, has "imposed a ban on monkey breeding for export to the United States for biomedical research."

This could be an important first step toward ending the grotesque breeding-and-export trade in monkeys once and for all.

The next step is for the Nepali government to listen to the coalition of animal protection groups (including PETA India) that has been urging the government to rehabilitate the hundreds of monkeys at a breeding center in Lele and to pass a law that would halt all commercial wildlife breeding.

We hope Nepal's action also inspires officials in Puerto Rico to block plans by Bioculture to build a monkey-breeding facility there. But in case they're not paying attention to Nepali news—and, let's face it, many folks aren't—please be sure to add your voice to the growing chorus opposing the construction of Bioculture's facility.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Beach bums everywhere agree that Puerto Rico's beaches are heavenly, but the island will become hell on earth for thousands of monkeys if a massive primate-breeding facility is approved.

PETA is taking no time off in our efforts to shoot down the proposal by Bioculture, a company that breeds and sells monkeys to foreign laboratories, where they will suffer abusive handling, months of confinement in metal cages, and forced dosings of toxic chemicals (remember Covance, anyone?). The latest efforts include working to get our new billboard erected in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

There's more to come, so stay tuned.

Posted by Karin Bennett

This guy wasn't monkeying around when he and 300 animal defenders recently descended upon Guayama, Puerto Rico (aka "Pueblo de los Brujos" or "city of witches"), to condemn the proposed construction of a Bioculture monkey-breeding facility within city limits.

This plan is driving everyone—from PETA to local citizens—bananas because Bioculture reportedly wants to use the facility to breed wild monkeys and sell their babies for use in painful and cruel experiments. Even Guayama's mayor, Glorimari Jaime, is opposed to the facility's construction. Halfway through the protest, she came out of her office, stood on a bench, and told the group that she was on their side—and that she would support and join in civil disobedience with them.

The protest was picked up by media across the city, so my guess is that Puerto Rican governor Luis G. Fortuño has already caught wind of the public's outrage. Yesterday, we sent him a letter calling on him to halt consideration of the Bioculture facility—hopefully it will be the final nudge he needs to prevent its construction.

Our hats are off to the hundreds of caring people who have voiced their opposition to Bioculture—please join them.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Did you catch PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk on CNN Headline News last night? She was on Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell to speak out against plans to build a monkey-breeding facility in Puerto Rico.

Reports that this breeding farm would be stocked with monkeys snatched from their native homes in Mauritius are nightmarish enough, but the babies would then be sold for laboratory experiments. You know, like at Columbia University and Covance? Yikes!

Props to Jane Velez-Mitchell for recognizing that this story is newsworthy and for treating it—and folks concerned about animal rights—with respect. If you missed it, you should definitely check it out. Then head over here and tell Puerto Rico to cut out the monkey biz.

Posted by Jeff Mackey