Ask Fast-Food Chain to Stop Using Chimps in Commercials

By Renee Gauthier

Target: Sardar Biglari, CEO of Biglari Holdings, Inc., parent company of Steak ‘n Shake

Goal: Pull ad featuring an exploited chimpanzee, and to pledge to no longer use chimps in advertisements

A recent advertisement for fast-food chain Steak ‘n Shake features a tuxedo-wearing chimpanzee. While this may seem silly and harmless enough, chimps in the entertainment industry are often subject to abuse and abandonment. Stand up for the rights of chimpanzees–sign the petition asking Steak ‘n Shake to pull the ad in question and pledge to stop using chimpanzees in its advertisements.

Chimps in the entertainment industry are taken away from their mothers at a very early age. The experience is detrimental to both the baby chimps and their mothers, and the babies grow up without proper socialization and emotional development as a result. Training can also prove injurious to the chimps’ well-being, as they are often subjected “to physical and psychological abuse in order to ensure that they will perform confusing, unnatural behaviors on cue.”

But the worst is yet to come for many chimpanzees in entertainment. By the time a chimpanzee has reached the age of eight, it has become too large to safely control. Many chimps find themselves deposited in roadside zoos or similar places after having reached the end of their tenure in show business. Since chimpanzees can live into their 60s, this condemns them to potentially five decades’ worth of poor facilities and care.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is fighting an ongoing effort to prevent the use of chimpanzees in advertising. Several major companies agreed to stop using chimpanzees in their ads after learning about the conditions to which the animals are subjected. Urge Steak ‘n Shake to join the likes of Great Clips, Pizza Factory, Pfizer, Dodge, and Capital One and stop featuring chimpanzees in its advertising.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Biglari,

Chimpanzees have been a staple of comedic advertising campaigns for years, but the treatment these animals face behind the scenes could not be less humorous. I urge you to lessen the plight of chimpanzees in the entertainment industry by pulling a recent Steak ‘n Shake ad featuring a chimp and pledging to no longer use chimpanzees in Steak ‘n Shake’s advertising.

Chimpanzees destined for show business “careers” are separated from their mothers at an early age, an event that is as traumatic for the mothers as it is for the baby chimps being removed. The chimps are often subject to abuse during the training process. When they become too old to safely control, they are shuffled off to roadside zoos or similar locations, where they often endure substandard care and facilities. And because most chimps–who can live well into their 60s–are retired at around eight years old, they can look forward to decades of this inhumane treatment.

Many other companies have taken a stand upon learning the sad truth behind chimp “actors.” I urge Steak ‘n Shake to join companies like Great Clips, Pizza Factory, Pfizer, Dodge, and Capital One and stop featuring chimpanzees in advertisements.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay