Dubai: A woman crouched in a small cage drew the attention of onlookers and police in a rare protest in Dubai on Wednesday.

Ashley Fruno, 27, was questioned by police who asked her to crawl out a few minutes into the protest near Deira City Centre in the morning.

The Canadian said she was protesting against the “cruel” shipments of monkeys to “experimentation” labs where they are allegedly harmed.

A security source confirmed Fruno was taken to Al Muraqqabat police station, along with the cage, but was later released.

He said she was made to sign an undertaking that she will not protest again unless she fulfils the required paperwork and obtains permission from authorities.

The source added Fruno was even offered a ride back because she did not have money on her for a taxi.

Fruno campaigns “full time” for Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and had in 2010 protested alongside another Peta activist against conditions at Dubai Zoo.

Wednesday’s lone protest – which lasted 10 minutes – happened outside the Air France office on the ground floor of Al Shoala complex.

Peta claims Air France is the only airline that has not stopped shipping monkeys for experimentation.

An immediate comment from Air France was not available; however, a manager at Air France said a response may or may not be available by press time on Wednesday.

In the short-lived protest, surprised pedestrians looked on as Fruno crouched silently and expressionless in the cage, which carried a sign saying “Air France: Deplane Monkeys”.

The activist, dressed in grey pants and jacket, told reporters at the scene she was “left with no choice” but to “take action publicly” after Peta’s calls to end the purported shipments failed.

“This is not the first thing we do,” she said, adding Wednesday’s protest was “all about making a point” when “no one is speaking out”.

Fruno said the shipments were “for profit, not because of concern for medical research. Non-animal methods are more reliable”.

Fruno, who said she is based in the Philippines and is visiting Dubai, seemed confident her stand on animal rights will “eventually pay off”.

She added Peta “had ways of finding out” about the shipments, including obtaining shipment bills.

Peta said in a statement on Tuesday that thousands of monkeys are sent to labs where they are “imprisoned in tiny cages, cut into, poisoned, crippled, addicted to drugs, shocked and killed”.

Peta claims “some of these animals come from squalid monkey farms in Africa and Asia, while others are torn away from their homes and families in the wild.

“The primates are crammed into small wooden crates and transported inside dark cargo holds for nearly 30 hours before they reach their final – and deadly destination in laboratories in the US and EU [European Union]”.