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Animal-Rights Groups Target Humane Assoc

By MEGAN McCLOSKEY, Associated Press WriterWed Mar 15, 5:06 PM ET

The "No Animals Were Harmed" disclaimer at the end of the movie has
been part of the popular vernacular since 1989, when it first showed
up in Paul Newman's "Fat Man and Little Boy." It's even trademarked.

But animal-rights activists say the official-sounding phrase is
nothing more than a hollow slogan when it comes to the great ape. Some
are accusing the Denver-based American Humane Association, which
grants the disclaimer to filmmakers, of failing to protect our closest
animal-kingdom relative.

A coalition of primatologists, attorneys, scientists and actors are
calling for an end to the use of apes in entertainment, citing the
practice of separating infants and mothers, deplorable living
conditions and abusive trainers.

They're calling the campaign "No Reel Apes."

The humane association is the only organization authorized by
Hollywood to monitor animal use on movie sets and it gets $1.5 million
annually from the film industry to do so. The AHA has sparked an
uproar by declining to join the "No Reel Apes" campaign.

"They are the only regulatory agency that links care for animals to
the industry," said Nona Gandelman of the Jane Goodall Institute in
Arlington, Va. "They have a foot in the door."

The AHA has been involved in the entertainment industry since 1939
when a horse was forced to leap to its death in a cliff scene during
the making of the movie "Jesse James." The group boycotted the movie,
causing a public outcry and earning itself an on-set monitoring role.

The AHA looks out for creatures great and small, down to the smallest
bug (precautions have to be taken to prevent insects from flying into
the klieg lights). AHA safety monitors have unlimited access to sets
working with the Screen Actors Guild and they review scripts for
possible risks.

The AHA recently denied its trademarked disclaimer to the box-office
hit "The 40 Year Old Virgin" because tropical fish died on set after
someone turned off the aeration in the tank.

AHA officials say there is no conflict of interest when it comes to
funding, since an independent board oversees the money it is paid by
the film industry. They also say there is a proper place for apes in
entertainment — almost always chimpanzees or orangutans — and that
their role as safety overseers is too vital to risk by joining the "No
Reel Apes" campaign.

"Rather than sign on that they (apes) can't be used in entertainment,
we can protect their safety," said Marie Belew Wheatley, president of
the association. "To walk away from that would leave producers to use
apes and chimps with no oversight for their humane treatment. We feel
that responsibility outweighs any interest in signing on to the
campaign."

The association's only real power is the disclaimer and producers
don't have to follow the guidelines. The association can't ban an
animal trainer known for abuse from being used on set, though it can
alert authorities if they see any abuse.

"Studios hide behind the fact that they have animal-welfare monitors
on the site," said Sara Beckler, a primatologist with the Chimpanzee
Collaboratory in Washington, which is leading the campaign. "The only
way to give these endangered species the protection they need is to
simply not use them."

Gayle Osterberg, spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of
America, said the organization has spoken with the collaboratory to
let it know they empathize with the group's concern and that animal
safety is a priority for the studios.

"The MPAA cannot, though, dictate rules," she said, adding that
technology is playing an increasing role in reducing the need for live
animals.

The AHA updated its guidelines last month for safe animal use in
entertainment. The primates section has been changed and now includes,
for example, a request that producers consider the impact of
separating infants and mothers and retirement plans for apes too old
for film.

Supporters of the "No Reel Apes" campaign applaud those efforts, but
say recommendations without policing authority is simply not enough
and that much of the inhumane treatment occurs during training off the
set, where the association lacks authority.

The campaign has released a report detailing a 14-month undercover
investigation by Beckler at the facility of Sid Yost, a prominent
Hollywood animal trainer. Beckler said she worked as a volunteer at
Yost's Amazing Animals and saw repeated abuse, including beatings with
a sawed-off broom stick called the "ugly stick" and other tactics
meant to inspire fear.

Yost vehemently denied all the charges.

"I don't believe in beating animals. I wouldn't be in the business if
that's what I had to do," Yost said, noting his chimpanzees have their
hands and feet rubbed with lotion every day, get gummy vitamins and
play on gymnast rings and swings for entertainment.

Leonard Sigdestad, a veterinarian who treats Yost's chimps at Loma
Linda Animal Hospital in San Bernardino, Calif., said claims of abuse
are the "farthest thing from the truth."

"Those chimpanzees are treated better than most children are," he said.

Those who want apes banned from movies also say retirement is a
significant problem. A typical career for a chimpanzee is a couple of
years, but their life span is between 50 and 60 years. The
collaboratory said most Hollywood apes end up in roadside zoos or
unfit facilities for four or five decades after they are no longer
useful to their trainers.

"They are forced to do things that are not normal or natural to them
and then afterward they are discarded," Gandelman said.

Rob Shumaker, a primatologist with the Great Apes Trust in Des Moines,
Iowa, said the problems with using apes in entertainment goes beyond
their immediate welfare.

"There's emerging evidence that seeing apes in movies gives people an
anti-conservation attitude. People think they must be plentiful if
they are able to be used for entertainment," he said. "Apes in the
entertainment industry is driven by one thing and one thing only and
that's consumer demand."

___

On the Net:

AHA: http://www.americanhumane.org

Chimp Collaboratory: http://www.chimpcollaboratory.org

Goodall institute: http://www.janegoodall.org

Animal Actors Guild: http://www.animalactorsguild.com