For immediate release:
October 4, 2021
Contact:
Moira Collie 202-483-7382
After PETA informed the USDA of an advertisement for the clothing company Bananas Monkey, in which influencers including Jeffrey Star, James Charles, Swae lee, Michael Yerger, Daisy Keach, Austin McBroom, and Chantelle Jeffries– interacting with two monkeys, the agency cited exhibitor Kevin Keith for violating federal animal welfare laws. PETA has just received an inspection report.
Keith was cited for failing to maintain direct control of primates during physical contact with the public when a baboon named Mickey, who was used in films Rock forever and Get tough– and a Capuchin named Chiquita was forced to hug, shake hands and sit on the shoulders of influential people and other members of the public. The inspector said the trick could have resulted in “physical injury to people or animals.”
“The monkeys used by exhibitors like Keith are taken from their mothers, driven, coerced into performing and forced one stressful meeting after another,” says Debbie Metzler, associate director of animal captivity enforcement at PETA. PETA urges influencers to use their platforms to condemn animal exploitation, not to permit it.
Baboons, Capuchin monkeys and other wildlife used in the entertainment industry are often torn from their mothers in infancy and transported from city to city for display, photo shoots, or forced performances. Primates are intelligent, curious, sociable animals who are happiest when surrounded by family, and they have complex physical and psychological needs that simply cannot be met when used for events. To suppress their natural behavior and ensure complete control over these animals, which can be dangerous and unpredictable, trainers usually use abusive training methods.
PETA, whose motto, in part, is that “animals are not meant to be used by us for fun” and which opposes arrogance, a worldview based on human superiority, warned influencers about this quote and asked them to make a commitment to never no longer engage in violent crimes or support them. exhibits of animals.
For more information on PETA news gathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…