Aflac Up for PETA Litterbox Award for Bad Animal Ad
PETA Press Release
Company Unmoved by Experts’ Warnings About Violent Training Methods and Other Abuses Suffered by Great Ape ‘Actors’
For Immediate Release:
April 28, 2008
Contact:
Kristie Phelps 757-622-7382
Columbus, Ga. — For using a live, young orangutan to portray the inferior nature of a competitor in a television commercial, insurance company Aflac, which is based in Columbus, Ga., has been nominated for a PETA Litterbox Award. PETA gives out Litterbox Awards once a year for ads that stink for animals.
Aflac has ignored evidence provided by PETA from the world’s foremost great-ape experts about the abuses of young orangutans and other nonhuman primates used in entertainment. Infant orangutans are taken from their mothers and often are beaten and electrically shocked behind the scenes to force them to pay attention and repeat what–to them–are senseless acts. PETA also provided Aflac with evidence from a primatologist who spent 14 months working undercover at a California facility that trains great apes for the television and film industries. The primatologist witnessed trainers kicking, punching, and beating the animals. At around 8 years of age, orangutans become too powerful to be safely handled and are often discarded in decrepit roadside zoos. A study recently published by primatologists in the journal Science concluded, “[T]he inappropriate portrayal of great apes in advertisements undermines the scientific, welfare, and conservation goals that we and many readers work hard to achieve.”
Nearly 3,500 people have complained to Aflac since PETA posted an action alert about the commercial on its popular Web site. PETA is urging Aflac to join Subaru, Honda, PUMA, and other companies that have made a commitment not to use great apes in future ads after receiving information from PETA. The group also gives out Glitterbox Awards to companies that depict animals in a positive manner and promote respect for animals in their ads.
“Aflac is damaging its own reputation by ignoring the public’s interest in the preservation and protection of great apes,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “Aflac needs to send the right message by pulling this offensive ad and pledging never to use great apes again.”
PETA’s correspondence with Aflac is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site NoMoreMonkeyBusiness.com.
