Victory: Moonpig Pulls Captive Great Ape Greeting Cards

For Immediate Release:

9 December 2019

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

VICTORY: MOONPIG PULLS CAPTIVE GREAT APE GREETINGS CARDS

Following PETA Appeal, Company Removes Cards Featuring Captive Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Other Primates

London – After learning from PETA of the harm caused by cards featuring depictions of captive great apes in unnatural situations, popular greeting card provider Moonpig has pledged no longer to sell such cards – and removed all existing ones from its website. PETA’s request follows the release of recent studies which revealed that inaccurate portrayals of great apes in the media can seriously hinder conservation efforts and may also increase the demand for these dangerous animals as “pets”.

In response to the news, primatologist Dr Jane Goodall OBE told The Telegraph: “For years chimpanzees have been abused by the entertainment trade and it is good news that Moonpig have made the decision to stop using them in inappropriate ways on their cards.”

“By banning images of captive great apes in unnatural situations, Moonpig has made a huge difference for non-human primates, both in the wild and in captivity,” says PETA Director of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor. “Advertising agencies and film and television producers have already moved away from using these harmful images, and we hope other card manufacturers follow the company’s compassionate lead.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – notes that great apes used as “actors” or kept as “pets” are usually taken from their mothers shortly after birth, a traumatic experience that typically results in neurotic and sometimes self-injurious behaviour that can persist into adulthood. Many consumers are also unaware that the “smile” exhibited by chimpanzees on greeting cards is actually a fear grimace, a sign that a chimpanzee is deeply afraid. And eyewitness investigations have revealed that the physical abuse of apes is standard practice in the entertainment industry.

PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. The group’s letter to Moonpig is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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