Monkeys held in Laos for laboratory trade

AFP and several newspapers run a story about monkeys held in Laos for trade:

Thousands of monkeys are being held in overcrowded and barren farms in Laos and sold for international laboratory research, according to a report from a British animal protection group. Laos has exported nearly 35,000 long-tailed macaques since 2004 as part of a fast-growing trade in the species for research, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) said in a statement released Monday.

I wonder if this is again called a tradition and untouchable? I see so many young people now in Vientiane having dogs as pets and taking care of them, I just hope this also will change a mindset in the population soon, that animals a creatures as we are, and should be treated with respect.