Tell Ask.com That Orangutans Deserve Better
- by: Jennifer Blum
- recipient: James Lanzone, CEO, IAC Search & Media and Ask.com
In a recent advertising campaign, Ask.com employed the use of an infant orangutan in order to perpetrate a misconception that humans are the only primates who use tools. Not only is it factually wrong that orangutans do not use tools, it is cruel and unethical to exploit Great Apes in the name of entertainment.
Great Apes who end up in the entertainment industry are literally torn from their mothers at birth, when in the wild, they would stay with their mothers for over eight years. Infant Great Apes are required to be forcefully handled and are oftentimes beaten by their trainers in order to become submissive. As these primates grow into puberty, they become less manageable and as a result, many trainers will have their teeth removed and as well as instituting the use of shock collars. Alternately, the trainer may take the easy route and simply acquire more baby chimpanzees as they discard of the used adults either through euthanization or by being dumped at a roadside zoo.
Dear Mr. Lanzone,
I am writing on behalf of Animal Defenders International (ADI) in order to voice our concerns over your continued use of Orangutans in Ask.coms advertisements.
Great Apes suffer greatly in the entertainment industry - whether this is with traveling circuses or with suppliers of animals for the TV and movie industry. There is an inevitable level of coercion, deprivation, confinement, and lack of appropriate access to their own species.
In the wild, Orangutans would remain with their mothers for seven to eight years, yet the entertainment industrys demand for compliant and appealing youngsters demands that these animals be torn early from their mothers. In addition to this maternal deprivation, these Great Apes are often severely mistreated behind the scenes of suppliers of animals for advertising, movies etc.
As Orangutans grow into puberty, they become less manageable and may simply be discarded in favor of another infant either through euthanization or by being dumped at a roadside zoo. Most accredited zoos will not accept these "broken" Orangutans, as they usually have severe emotional disorders by the time they are dumped by the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, there is a lack of credible primate sanctuaries in this country to care for these severely abused animals.
It is acknowledged that Great Apes are incredibly sentient and intelligent they have even taught American Sign Language as a method of communication to each other and they have very rich and complex social structures. They are also highly endangered. Trivializing and making these animals into figures of fun in advertising can only undermine genuine conservations efforts for these species in Africa.
I am sure you can agree that the needs of these magnificent individuals far exceed Ask.coms desires to use them as tools for entertainment purposes. As a powerful corporation, I hope that Ask.com will accept its moral and social responsibility to stop perpetrating the tragedy involved with the use of Great Apes in entertainment.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionI am writing on behalf of Animal Defenders International (ADI) in order to voice our concerns over your continued use of Orangutans in Ask.coms advertisements.
Great Apes suffer greatly in the entertainment industry - whether this is with traveling circuses or with suppliers of animals for the TV and movie industry. There is an inevitable level of coercion, deprivation, confinement, and lack of appropriate access to their own species.
In the wild, Orangutans would remain with their mothers for seven to eight years, yet the entertainment industrys demand for compliant and appealing youngsters demands that these animals be torn early from their mothers. In addition to this maternal deprivation, these Great Apes are often severely mistreated behind the scenes of suppliers of animals for advertising, movies etc.
As Orangutans grow into puberty, they become less manageable and may simply be discarded in favor of another infant either through euthanization or by being dumped at a roadside zoo. Most accredited zoos will not accept these "broken" Orangutans, as they usually have severe emotional disorders by the time they are dumped by the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, there is a lack of credible primate sanctuaries in this country to care for these severely abused animals.
It is acknowledged that Great Apes are incredibly sentient and intelligent they have even taught American Sign Language as a method of communication to each other and they have very rich and complex social structures. They are also highly endangered. Trivializing and making these animals into figures of fun in advertising can only undermine genuine conservations efforts for these species in Africa.
I am sure you can agree that the needs of these magnificent individuals far exceed Ask.coms desires to use them as tools for entertainment purposes. As a powerful corporation, I hope that Ask.com will accept its moral and social responsibility to stop perpetrating the tragedy involved with the use of Great Apes in entertainment.
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