Great Ape 'Actors': Anguished Entertainers

If you think your job is lousy, imagine being beaten by your boss when your performance is not up to snuff and kept in a cage when your shift is over. That is exactly what happens to chimpanzees and orang-utans who are used as "actors" in the entertainment industry.

Chimpanzees and orang-utans are ripped away from their mothers when they are only days old so they can be "hand raised". The trauma of premature separation leaves life-long emotional scars on mothers and babies. The terrified infants are severely beaten with fists, rocks and jab sticks in order to break their spirits and ensure compliance. They live in a constant state of apprehension and fear.

Time is money in the film, television and advertising industries, which puts a great deal of pressure on trainers to ensure animals perform correctly in the fewest possible takes. These financial constraints can and do lead trainers to apply severe discipline and use excessive force during training sessions to make animals "act" on cue when they are on the set.

According to the journal Science, primatologists have found that "[d]epictions of chimpanzees as caricatures can lead people to think these animals are not endangered and is a problem for conservation and welfare efforts". These highly intelligent animals deserve so much better. We must stop the abuse, exploitation and humiliation that these animals suffer for the sake of human entertainment.

Please use the form below to demand that the Animal Welfare Board of India refuse to grant filmmakers permission to shoot or air films and commercials in India that use chimpanzees or orang-utans. Also ask the Advertising Standards Council of India to amend their guidelines to prohibit the use of chimpanzees and orang-utans in commercials.