Company Uses Young Chimpanzees in Super Bowl Ads Even After Learning That the Animals Are Taken From Their Mothers and Suffer Other Horrors
For Immediate Release:
January 30, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Chicago -- Despite being thoroughly informed by PETA and primate experts, including Dr. Jane Goodall, about abusive training sessions inflicted on chimpanzee infants who have been taken from their mothers and exploited as "actors," CareerBuilder has decided to again air an ad featuring baby chimpanzees. Because CareerBuilder has chosen to ignore animal abuse in its quest to improve its bottom line, PETA is awarding the company the Ass-Backwards Corporation of the Year Award specifically to dishonor the company. The award goes to CareerBuilder "for being behind the times and lacking creativity and understanding of animals' interests as seen in its outdated use of infant chimpanzees in commercials."
"CareerBuilder is endorsing and subsidizing the exploitation and abuse of baby chimpanzees by going in the opposite direction from all the top companies and ad agencies that have decided never to use great apes in their ads," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "CareerBuilder is the perfect recipient for PETA's 'Ass-Backwards' award because the company's attitude toward animals is butt-ugly."
Young chimpanzees and orangutans used in ads, movies, and TV shows are torn from their loving mothers, causing trauma to both infant and adult. The youngsters, who do not understand what is expected of them in a totally unnatural environment, are commonly beaten and electrically shocked behind the scenes and kept in cramped metal cages. Many of the trainers used by ad agencies have abysmal histories of failing to comply with even the minimal standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act. A primatologist who spent 14 months working undercover for a California facility that trains great apes for the television and film industries found that trainers were kicking, punching, and beating chimpanzees. At around 8 years of age, the animals become unmanageable and are routinely discarded in decrepit roadside zoos or sold to foreign traveling shows.
Nine of the top 10 ad agencies in the U.S. have agreed not to use great apes in ads, as is the case with numerous major corporations—including Monster, CareerBuilder's chief competitor.
For more information, please visit PETA's blog.
