PETA Takes Animal Practice Protest to 30 Rock

Wild Animals Suffer for Show's Cheap Laughs, Says Group

For Immediate Release:
September 19, 2012

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382 

New York -- Dressed all in black, wearing monkey masks, and holding signs that read, "NBC: Animal Mal-Practice" and "I Don't Want to Be in Your Damn TV Show," PETA members will gather outside NBC's New York headquarters on Thursday to call attention to the cruelty inherent in Animal Practice's use of wild-animal "actors" such as Crystal, the capuchin monkey who stars in the series. The action comes day after a similar protest in Los Angeles, which included primate experts who have condemned NBC's new series.

When:   Thursday, September 20, 12 noon

Where:  NBC, 30 Rockefeller Plz., New York

Previous sitcoms featuring monkeys, such as NBC's Friends, caused a flood of discarded "pet" monkeys at primate sanctuaries across the country, when misguided owners realized that they were unable to meet these complex animals' specialized needs. Life in the entertainment industry leaves monkeys psychologically damaged.

"The cheap laughs that Animal Practice gets from putting a monkey in a lab coat come at a heavy cost for animals who spend their lives deprived of everything that is natural and important to them," says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. "Animal Practice's brand of 'comedy' is as cruel as it is creatively bankrupt."

The "smile" that Crystal exhibits on the show is actually an expression that indicates fear and stress in capuchin monkeys. Capuchin expert Dr. Eduardo Ottoni states, "[S]ince we do not usually understand their communicative behaviors properly, fear, submission, or avoidance displays can easily be mistaken for 'smiles.'"

For more information, please visit PETA.org.