Chimp Haven Board Chairman On CareerBuilder’s Exploitation of Chimpanzees
Excerperted from a Lincoln Park Zoo press release:
Doesn’t CareerBuilder Get it? Exploiting Chimpanzees in Latest Ad is Not Funny
(Chicago, Jan. 26, 2012) – Chicago-based CareerBuilder has once again drawn the ire of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, a national leader in chimpanzee welfare and conservation, because of its latest highly insensitive television advertisement to be debuted during the Super Bowl XLVI, which features costumed chimpanzees. Zoo officials charge that CareerBuilder is exploiting an endangered species and asks them once again to stop it.
“There is ample scientific evidence demonstrating the long-term negative impacts that the use of chimpanzees in commercials has on species conservation and welfare,” explained Steve Ross, Ph.D., assistant director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo. “These are endangered species we’re talking about. CareerBuilder is well aware that their commercials are contributing to negative outcomes for this species, which could become extinct in the next few decades, and yet they continue this damaging and archaic practice. It’s very disappointing.”
Several recent scientific studies published in notable, peer-reviewed journals including Science and PLoS One demonstrate a direct correlation between people viewing chimpanzees in commercials, such as Careerbuilder, and their conservation actions and attitudes after viewing. A pattern is clear – people who view chimpanzees in human settings, wearing clothes are less inclined to think the species is endangered and less inclined to support conservation efforts to save them. Unfortunately, the fact is that chimpanzees are in rapid decline and conservation experts fear they may be extinct within the next 10 – 50 years if significant conservation action isn’t taken.
Cartoon by Dawn Forsythe and her friend “Herman the Chimp”
http://chimptrainersdaughter.blogspot.com/2012/01/inquiring-chimps-want-to-know-about.html
Using chimpanzees in television commercials is also rife with welfare concerns. Ross explains that animals used in entertainment are often taken from their mothers at a young age which can result in tremendous emotional and psychological distress. The active “acting” careers of these chimpanzees are typically only a few short years, after which they become too large, strong and unmanageable. Because chimps can live 50-60 years, those deemed no longer useful to the media may end up in suboptimal housing for the next several decades.
“There are significant conservation and welfare concerns and because of this many major advertising agencies have pledged to no longer use chimpanzees in ad campaigns,” explained Ross. “The simple fact is that using chimps in ads isn’t funny, it’s sad. There is overwhelming public sentiment that these practices are simply not acceptable and that the lives of these chimpanzees is far more important than the few laughs they might receive during a 30-second advertisement.”
Ross is the founder of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE, a group dedicated to examining the link between media usage of chimpanzees and the conservation and welfare impacts on the species and is also Chimp Haven’s respected Board Chairman.
A group of over 2,000 has also formed on Facebook who are planning to “Change the Channel” for chimpanzees during the Super Bowl.
https://www.facebook.com/events/263827960353445/
Click here to read more information about what happens to chimpanzees and other great apes who have been used in entertainment:
Below are links to additional information and petitions:
http://www.chimpcare.org/blog/2012/01/shame-on-careerbuilder
http://www.janegoodall.org/node/11169
http://news.yahoo.com/zoo-wants-company-stop-using-203155674.html
http://www.change.org/petitions/careerbuilder-stop-using-chimpanzees-in-super-bowl-ads
