Del Toro Urges Puerto Rico To Nix Monkey Breeding Facility

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Benicio del Toro is asking Puerto Rico to halt a planned monkey-breeding facility, arguing the primates would suffer "extreme animal abuse."

In a letter to Gov. Luis Fortuno, the Puerto Rico-born actor says the Mauritius-based company Bioculture's facility would be cruel. It would supply monkeys to pharmaceutical companies for research.

Fortuno's office and Bioculture did not immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Bioculture community coordinator Jacinto Rivera Solivan previously said the Guayama facility would be run humanely.

Del Toro won a supporting actor Oscar for his role in "Traffic" and starred in last year's "Che," a biopic of Latin American revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

Comments

[SamKnause]

I hope it changes Puerto Rico's mind about the breeding program. There has to be a better way to test any kind of product, instead of using helpless animals.

[ChiProgressive]

There is a better!

Use poor and desperate human "volunteers"

[totalliberal]

Please Costa Rica, don't give up your great green conservation record for some American animal torturing company.

[jennwho]

Costa Rica?? They are talking Puerto Rico on this subject. Also Costa Rica might portray green, but believe me if this company setup shop there it would not even compare to the other companies there that are destroying the environment and people right now.

[arabianway]

It is tremendously helpful to animal welfare causes when a well known person lends his/her name to it.

These facilities ALWAYS say the animals involved will be treated humanely.

Fairly recently about 40 monkeys owned by Charles River Labs in Massachusetts and being bred and housed in Texas died of the heat. There in small cages, a tropical species captive and powerless to help themselves perished from human neglect.

Thank you Benicio

[LiberalHick]

Bless your heart Benicio!!!