A pregnant Fife woman was among a group of animal rights protesters demanding the closure of Florida’s “monkey prisons”.
The spread of the Zika virus to the American state prompted 23-year-old Francesca Hill from Pitscottie near Cupar, to join PETA US members to call for monkey importation and breeding laboratories to be shut.
PETA claims the facilities confine thousands of monkeys for experiments and breeding in unhygienic, outdoor cages.
This, they say, creates conditions ripe for mosquito breeding and the infection of large populations of captive monkeys with Zika.
Francesca said: “We are urging the Florida Department of Health to shut down the inhumane monkey-breeding facilities just outside Miami.
“These monkey colonies have proved to be the perfect environment for Zika to thrive and are poised to become an even greater public health risk if these labs aren’t closed for good.”
Because Zika can cause serious birth defects, PETA US displayed signs proclaiming: “Babies at risk”.
Given the UK Government recently warned its 50,000 annual travellers to Florida not to have unprotected sex, the protesters also displayed signs emblazoned with the words: “No sex for you!”.
Pregnant women have been advised to consider postponing non-essential trips to Florida amid concerns over the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe brain defects in newborns.
The US Centre for Disease Control does not expect a widespread outbreak of the disease, but says it is preparing for small clusters of infections.
The Zika virus is primarily spread by mosquitos and is currently present in more than 50 countries worldwide, including many Latin American countries.
It has already been declared to be the cause of birth defect microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads, and has more recently been linked with a severe joint condition seen at birth.
Known as arthrogryposis, the condition is characterised by problems with joint movement and muscle weakness, with joints often fixed in abnormal, curved positions.
