After PETA Appeal, F.H. Furr Pulls Chimpanzee Ad and Pledges ‘Never Again’
Progressive Plumbing Company Takes a Stand Against Tearing Baby Great Apes Away From Their Mothers and Abusing Them for ‘Entertainment’
For Immediate Release:
February 20, 2014
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
After thousands of PETA supporters wrote to Washington-area plumbing, heating, and cooling company F.H. Furr, the company not only pulled its ad but also pledged not to feature footage of chimpanzees or any other animals in its future advertisements. F.H. Furr’s move comes hot on the heels of a similar decision (as featured in The New York Times) by Volkswagen, whose pulled Super Bowl teaser ad had featured a monkey.
“This heating and cooling company was hot to prove that it wants nothing to do with an industry that tears baby animals away from their mothers for a lifetime of abuse and deprivation,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Once businesses learn from PETA about the abuse faced by primates for ‘entertainment,’ they’re eager to do what’s right for animals and for the customers who care about them.”
As revealed in PETA’s award-winning video short, “98% Human,” chimpanzees and other great apes used as “actors” are torn away from their loving mothers, causing trauma to both infant and adult. A primatologist who spent 14 months working undercover for a California facility that trained great apes for the television and film industries found that trainers were kicking, punching, and beating chimpanzees. A chimpanzee’s “smile” (featured in the F.H. Furr ad) is actually a fear grimace, and at around 8 years of age, the animals become unmanageable and are routinely discarded in decrepit roadside zoos.
F.H. Furr and Volkswagen are part of a growing number of companies—including Capital One, Burger King, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Bridgestone—that have banned the use of primates in their ads. And each of the top 10 ad agencies in the U.S.—including Young & Rubicam, BBDO, and JWT—have banned the use of great apes in their ads.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
