Apes in Entertainment: At what cost?

Performing chimpanzees in the media

One of the most common media sites for performing chimpanzees is the advertising industry.  Some of the most popular ads in recent years have featured chimpanzees -- a worrisome fact given the potential welfare and conservation implications.

To see a chimpanzee on television, a greeting card or on the movie screen is not uncommon today.  Indeed, our society is saturated with images of young chimpanzees serving as caricatures of tiny humans...dressed in business suits, grinning madly and sticking out their tongue.  But the truth behind these images is not nearly as carefree and frivolous.  The facts are downright sobering:

• The vast majority of chimpanzees that you see in the media are between the ages of three and six.  Many visitors to zoos are surprised that chimpanzees actually get quite big because they are so used to seeing juveniles on television and in magazines.  Young chimpanzees are far easier to handle than adults, but when these youngsters grow up, and are unable to be used to perform, they are often discarded or even euthanized -- no longer of any use to their owners.
• In order to get chimpanzees to be so easy handled,  young chimpanzees are often taken from their mother very early on.  Infants who lack proper maternal care or experience may have behavioral issues later in life, including difficulty relating to other chimpanzees which would make reintegration to a social group difficult.
• Seeing chimpanzees so frequently in unnatural situations can also have an effect on the public's perception of their status in the wild.  A recent study found that zoo visitors often feel chimpanzees are NOT endangered because they see them on television or commercials so frequently.  This effect of public perception of apes could have serious consequences on conservation efforts.

The Chimpanzee SSP feels strongly that companies have alternatives to the use of performing chimpanzees in their television programs, movies and advertisements.  We have written letters of concern to the following groups to express our concern and urge you to do the same:

• NBC, "Deal or No Deal": Unnecessary prop during gameshow
• 3M: Advertisement for Scotchbrite products
• Anheuser Busch: Advertisement for Bud Light
• CareerBuilder.com: Advertisement
• Kraft foods: Advertisement of DiGiorno pizza
• Suburban Auto Group: Advertisements featuring "Trunk Monkey"
• Verizon Wireless: Advertisement
• Glamour Magazine: Photo shoot
• CDW: Television commercials
• Kansas City International Airport: TV commercial
• Jack-in-the-Box restaurants: TV commercial
• Rebath: TV commercials
• Castrol Motor oil: TV commercials
• Pepsi Cola: TV commercials

The AZA board of directors has approved a policy on the presentation of animals that includes a white paper specifically on apes in entertainment. Click here for more detail.

Kendall Project is a grassroots effort website aimed at informing people about Apes in Entertainment and their efforts to integrate an former performer into their chimpanzee group at North Carolina Zoo.

Statement from the Ape Taxon Advisory Group opposing the use of performing apes

Letter to the producers of "Deal or No Deal" from the Chimpanzee SSP, Ape TAG, AZA and Reid Park Zoo