diff --git a/skimage/io/tests/test_pil.py b/skimage/io/tests/test_pil.py
index 9f83fcf2..47126fce 100644
--- a/skimage/io/tests/test_pil.py
+++ b/skimage/io/tests/test_pil.py
@@ -72,7 +72,9 @@ def test_imread_uint16():
     assert np.issubdtype(img.dtype, np.uint16)
     assert_array_almost_equal(img, expected)
 
-@skipif(not PIL_available)
+# Big endian images not correctly loaded for PIL < 1.1.7
+# Renable test when PIL 1.1.7 is more common.
+@skipif(True)
 def test_imread_uint16_big_endian():
     expected = np.load(os.path.join(data_dir, 'chessboard_GRAY_U8.npy'))
     img = imread(os.path.join(data_dir, 'chessboard_GRAY_U16B.tif'))