OZZY OSBOURNE's SAMSUNG Commercial Pulled Over Allegations Of Chimpanzee Abuse

September 10, 2009

After examining information supplied by PETA showing that chimpanzees and other great apes used in advertising are removed from their mothers as infants and routinely abused in behind-the-scenes training sessions, telecommunications giant Samsung has withdrawn a television commercial that showed Ozzy Osbourne watching a chimpanzee "rock star" on a smartphone (see commercial below).

Great apes used in advertisements are typically taken from their mothers not long after birth and forced to live in substandard conditions. Trainers have been caught routinely beating, kicking, punching, and electro-shocking the young animals to force them into submission and to ensure that they will "perform" tricks. These tricks, which are confusing and often uncomfortable to them, require the animals to suppress all their natural behaviors.

"PETA applauds Samsung's decision to distance itself from cruelty to apes who are used and abused in entertainment," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.

Samsung joins a growing roster of businesses that have pulled the plug on existing ads using great apes or that have pledged not to include the animals in any future advertising. These include Arnold Worldwide, Harris Teeter, Subaru, Honda, Keds, PUMA, Yahoo!, SEGA, Levi Strauss & Co., the Ad Council, and Gap Inc.

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