MF Doom Speaks Up for Animals in Entertainment October 20, 2009

Posted by Megan Rondeau at October 20, 2009 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

I'm sure you all remember a few months back when a chimp named Travis was stabbed and shot to death after badly attacking a Connecticut woman. Travis was just one of countless animals used in entertainment who spend their lives being forced to perform and end up suffering terribly for it. In this case, one animal lost his life, and an innocent woman was seriously injured. When this story broke a lot of people looked at Travis as a monster who was out of control. The truth behind the story though is that animals like chimpanzees should not be kept as pets, or in shady road-side "zoos" or Hollywood film studios for that matter.

It caught our attention when we saw that infamous hip-hop artist MF Doom (a.k.a. Danger Doom) spoke out about the tragedy in a recent interview with The New Yorker. He apparently wrote a song about the incident from the chimp's perspective, and said "It's still the fact of shooting a monkey. What is this disrespect for life?"

You can speak up for animals used in entertainment by spreading the message to your friends and family not to support companies, movies, or TV shows that think animals are ours to exploit.

Victory: Levi's and The Gap Inc. Love Animals! May 5, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at May 5, 2009 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

cryptomundo / CC

I don't think I need to tell you how much we hate it when companies use animals in their ads—or how pathetic it makes the company look when they insist on dragging animals through hell for a thirty second clip to sell some product. It's also downright terrifying and so sad when animals who—having spent part of their lives in the spotlight—completely lose it, and end up paying the ultimate price.

Following the tragic death of Travis, a chimpanzee who formerly starred in Old Navy commercials, PETA approached Levi's and Old Navy's parent company, Gap Inc. (which also owns Gap and Banana Republic), to ask the companies not to use apes in any future ads.

Executives for both companies knew that their choice was clear once they learned that young apes who are used in commercials are ripped away from their mothers when they are only days old, trained by being beaten, kicked, and punched, and then discarded to live in filthy roadside zoos when they are too old and strong to handle.

Gap Inc. and Levi's join other progressive companies and organizations that have also signed our pledge, including Harris Teeter, Young & Rubicam, SEGA, Honda, PUMA, Subaru, Keds, Yahoo!, and The Ad Council.

And, because we are never ones to let compassionate acts go unrewarded, we are sending both companies thank-you gifts for a job well done.

Here's hoping that other leading US companies follow their lead and take a stand against the abuse endured by great apes and other animals forced into show business.