See Something? Say Something! Bad Monkey Cast and Crew Urged to Report Animal Abuse to PETA

For Immediate Release:
February 11, 2026

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Filming of Season 2 of the Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey is underway, and after the show used a real monkey during Season 1, PETA is now flooding locations near the set with flyers urging cast and crew, as well as members of the public, to contact PETA if they see a real monkey being used and to report anything concerning they see related to animals.

“Bad Monkey, and any production that uses real wild animals, is bad news for these thinking, feeling, complex beings who are treated like mere props and typically forced to perform under the threat of violence,” PETA Director of Animals in Film and Television Lauren Thomasson. “Monkeys can’t speak up for themselves, so PETA urges anyone who witnesses animal abuse or sees anything of concern on set to report it immediately.”

PETA notes that most primates used for film and TV are taken away from their mothers as babies, a practice that denies the infants the maternal care and nurturing that they need for normal development. Their instinctual needs are completely thwarted, and as a result, they often develop neurotic behavior patterns, such as pacing, rocking, swaying, cage-biting, and self-mutilation. Many suffer from debilitating loneliness and depression, as their complex physical and psychological needs cannot be met at training compounds or on TV sets.

Investigations by PETA and law enforcement into animal suppliers for the film and television industries have documented that animals are often whipped, deprived of food during training, and housed in deplorable conditions. At one prominent supplier, monkeys were kept in waste-strewn enclosures that went uncleaned for four days, according to a worker. As wild animals mature and become useless to trainers, many are discarded at seedy roadside zoos or other substandard facilities, where they may suffer for years without proper food or veterinary care.

PETA urges anyone who sees animals being used for film or television productions to report it at PETA.org/Report or call the whistleblower hotline at 323-210-2233.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or to abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.