‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ in the Doghouse With PETA

For Immediate Release:
November 11, 2021

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange in response to the release of Clifford the Big Red Dog, which features a live capuchin monkey, among other real animals, and credits an animal trainer and a wrangler who appear to be affiliated with Birds & Animals Unlimited (BAU), a notorious Hollywood supplier at whose facility filth, neglect, and deprivation are the name of the game:

“While other movies opt for CGI that allows monkeys to stay with their families, instead of being dragged onto film sets and forced to perform, Clifford the Big Red Dog doubles down on old-school cruelty. Clifford is a big red flag, and kind audiences should skip the flick in favor of productions that don’t exploit animals.”

PETA’s 10-month-long investigation into BAU revealed that animals were denied adequate veterinary care for illnesses and injuries, forced to live inside filthy enclosures, and denied food so that they would be hungry while being trained to do tricks. Following PETA’s exposé, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited BAU for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.