Experts are calling on director Cameron Crowe to stop using primates as props in his films, like his upcoming We Bought a Zoo: World-renowned primatologist Dr. Shirley McGreal, chairperson of the International Primate Protection League, has written to Crowe asking him to leave primates out of the picture, saying, “Capuchin monkeys belong in the … Read more »
Director Cameron Crowe is getting an earful from world-famous primatologist Dr. Iqbal Malik, who sent a letter on PETA’s behalf to the director of the upcoming film We Bought a Zoo, asking him to stop using animals in films. © edelmar/ iStockPhoto.com Despite being made aware of the suffering endured behind the scenes by performing … Read more »
Should a wild animal be forced to sell car insurance, dance the Macarena, and smoke cigars to provoke a laugh? Not that it matters if there were millions of chimpanzees around to abuse, but a new study concludes that chimpanzees may be doomed as a species as long as the public continues to see them … Read more »
What inspired the makers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which opens in theaters everywhere today, to create what MTV calls “perhaps the most expensive PSA against animal testing ever filmed”? The film’s writers and producers, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, told us in this exclusive interview about the real-life apes who convinced them that … Read more »
PETA is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to seize animals from Karl Mitchell, whose repeated, flagrant violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) have left us reeling. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rarely yanks exhibitor’s licenses, but Mitchell’s license was revoked more than 10 years ago and he was fined $27,500 … Read more »
I hope you’re as stoked as I am to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which opens this Friday, August 5. The movie’s message and CGI special effects are so animal-friendly that PETA has given director Rupert Wyatt a Proggy Award for recognizing that real great apes don’t belong on production sets. … Read more »
Actor and mom Constance Marie has fired off a letter to Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido to ask that he put an end to the elephant rides at the Santa Ana Zoo. Constance, who stars in ABC Family’s new show Switched at Birth, was sickened after watching video footage of trainers with Have Trunk Will … Read more »
PETA has obtained copies of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports that describe repeated citations against the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for failing to adhere to the bare minimum regulations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. According to the most recent USDA inspection report, Ringling has failed to provide adequate veterinary … Read more »
PETA members converged on the Hollywood premiere of the new movie Zookeeper to remember Tweet, a giraffe who collapsed and died on set during the movie’s production. An elephant used in the film may also have been abused. Animal Defenders International took video footage of elephants as they were beaten and shocked by trainers at Have … Read more »
Update: Eighteen people with homes near the Yerkes National Primate Research Center have filed a complaint with city and county officials demanding that the facility be shut down. The female rhesus monkey still has not been found. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the 4,000 intelligent, sensitive nonhuman primates at Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate … Read more »
Animal Defenders International (ADI), which released video footage of an elephant, Tai, and others being hit with bullhooks and shocked with a stun gun, has filed suit against exhibitor Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT) for allegedly making misleading claims about how Tai was treated. PETA Files readers may recall that HTWT is the same outfit … Read more »
Despite being informed about the cruelty of hauling elephants around in tractor trailers and “controlling” them with bullhooks, California’s Orange County Fair is going ahead with plans to offer elephant rides provided by an outfit called “Have Trunk Will Travel” (HTWT). HTWT is the same exhibitor that was caught on tape hitting elephants with bullhooks … Read more »
You didn’t think Joan Jett would rest on her laurels after personally delivering an anti–seal slaughter letter to the Norwegian government earlier this week, did you? The rock icon has now set her sights on the San Diego County Fair, which is offering elephant rides from Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT)—a name synonymous with cruelty to animals—at the … Read more »
Zina and Jewel, two aging elephants who have spent nearly their entire lives with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (Jewel since 1954 and Zina since 1972), have been “donated” by the circus to the Little Rock Zoo. Some “retirement”: The Little Rock Zoo still uses the cruel and archaic free-contact system to … Read more »
Top advertising agency BBDO New York, a recipient of PETA’s Humane Ad Agency Award, doesn’t want fellow “mad men” even to think about abusing animals. So it has come up with an ingenious way to stop ad writers from using great-ape actors in ads before they’ve even started. The agency put an auto-correct program on its thousands … Read more »
