|
Dear Discovery Channel, I am greatly disappointed upon hearing about your new show, “My Monkey Baby”. This show is exploiting wild animals by depicting a woman who dresses-up her pet monkey, puts makeup on it, feeds it a poor diet full of fatty and sugary foods, and treats it like a human. Given the incident that occurred with Travis the Chimpanzee this year, where he nearly killed his caretaker who had him for years, and treated him much the same way, we have learned now, more than ever, of the tragedy that occurs when people keep primates as pets. All that this show can serve to do is glamorize it and drive the want of others to buy monkey’s. Then sadly, inevitably, the animal will get older and mature sexually, and become aggressive, and then what will become of that monkey once its caretaker is no longer able to safely take care of it? Why is it your problem what others do with what they learn on your shows? Because given that you own Animal Planet, Petfinder.com, and show educational material on Discovery Channel, you have made it your problem. You have proclaimed, in the community, that you are a station that is on the front lines of animal care and animal news. Through your educational programming on the Discovery Channel, you have carved out the opinion that your company is one that is educated, well-versed in diverse subject-matters, and is an expert on what you promote. Therefore, the masses look to you as knowledgeable experts in what you do. Through Petfinder.com alone, you have aligned yourself with the mission of caring for animals and helping them into safe situations. With Animal Planet, you feature shows such as “Animal Cops”, whose very premise is helping animals that are being mistreated. Shows such as “My Monkey Baby” on your affiliate network TLC, is a flagrant conflict of interest in the other channels, and programming, that you host. Sure, one could argue that the monkeys that you are featuring on your show are not being mistreated because they are being “spoiled” by the fancy wardrobe, treats, and attention that they are receiving. But that is because the concept of them being “spoiled” is from an stance of anthropomorphizing that animal. They are being spoiled by human standards, and you are perpetuating the projection that humanizing them is spoiling them. Featuring this show is careless and irresponsible, and I highly urge that you maintain within the integrity of your programming, and pull this show. Sincerely, Jessica Stout
If I didn't know better I would swear you were hired
To e-mail the Discovery Channel, go to: http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations