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From: Kiley Blackman
March 16, 2014
Yonkers Kia is airing an ad using chimpanzees that were beaten by the 'trainer' in undercover video. Please sign and share this letter - you don't have to be a Yonkers resident to sign. Thank you!
Sign an online petition:
Urge Yonkers Kia to Drop Cruel Chimpanzee Ad
The practice of using chimpanzees in commercials is on its way to becoming taboo in the advertising industry, yet Yonkers Kia is airing a television commercial—created by ad agency R/West—that features a young chimpanzee who was provided for the ad by a notorious abuser of chimpanzees.
The trainer, Sid Yost, was the subject of an undercover investigation in 2003 that revealed that he and his employees were violently beating chimpanzees with hammers and other blunt objects. In 2006, Yost was forced to surrender the chimpanzees in order to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the Endangered Species Act and California cruelty-to-animals laws. In 2008, Anjelica Huston narrated a video for PETA that details how chimpanzees and other great-ape "actors" are treated behind the scenes. The video includes information about Yost's abuse of the apes used in the "Trunk Monkey" ads. Huston explains how infant apes are taken away from their highly protective mothers shortly after birth, causing irreversible psychological harm, and beaten during preproduction training.
Plaza Auto Mall in Brooklyn pulled its "Trunk Monkey" ad in 2005, immediately upon learning about Yost's abuse of the chimpanzees used in the ads. Since then, dozens of companies have pulled ads featuring chimpanzees and other great apes, including Pfizer, Dodge, Great Clips, Pizza Factory, Travelers Insurance, Capital One, and Converse, among others. And after meeting with PETA, all of the top 10 U.S. advertising agencies implemented formal policies that prohibit the use of chimpanzees and other great apes in their ads.
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