Dog and Chimpanzee Beaten to Force Them to Perform for Reality Show
A new reality TV show called We Are Friends—filmed in Thailand and broadcast in China—is anything but friendly to animals. Eyewitness video released by PETA Asia shows that the two “stars” of the show—a chimpanzee named Miya and a dog named Dongdong—were beaten into performing various human tasks such as doing homework and using a smartphone.
PETA Asia called for the boycott after receiving video footage from an anonymous source who claimed to have worked for the show. It apparently shows a handler dragging, slapping, and kicking the two animals on numerous occasions. It was also claimed that Miya and Dongdong were seen hurting themselves during production—a common sign of distress and anxiety in animals who are held captive and forced to perform.
PETA Asia told MailOnline that “[t]he only reality in this show is animal cruelty,” adding, “This is just another example of animals being exploited and abused in China and Thailand, where animal-protection laws are weak and non-existent.”
No chimpanzee willingly walks a dog for fun. These animals are slapped and hit in order to force them to perform.
Ironically, a show that forces animals to participate in human activities fails horribly in recognizing one of the most cherished human acts—giving consent. Animals don’t choose to become actors. Like Miya and Dongdong, those in the entertainment industry are beaten and forced to perform for humans. Certainly, no animals—human or otherwise—would ever choose to be separated from their families and everything that’s natural and important to them only to be subjected to daily violence.
Help suffering animals who have been robbed of their dignity and are forced to perform for humans.
If you witness any form of animal abuse on a set, do your best to document it. Then report it at AnimalsInFilmAndTV.com/#abuse or contact PETA’s confidential whistleblower hotline at 323-210-2233.
Animals aren’t actors, spectacles to imprison and gawk at, or circus clowns. Yet thousands of them are forced to perform meaningless, confusing tricks under the threat of being whipped, beaten, poked, and prodded. Please join PETA in taking a stand for animals used in entertainment:
