News Releases

NAKED AND CHAINED SUPERMODEL SAYS, 'BOYCOTT ZOOS,' IN NEW PETA AD

Patrick Ribbsaeter Urges Tourists to Stick Up for Elephants

 

For Immediate Release:

October 20, 2009

 

Beijing -- Wearing nothing but chains around his neck and legs and standing next to the tagline "Wild Animals Don't Belong in Chains. Boycott the Zoo," half-Swedish, half-Thai supermodel Patrick Ribbsaeter appears in a brand-new ad for Hong Kong-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific. Ribbsaeter--who has been the face of Gucci and Calvin Klein, among other designers--wants people to know that elephants in zoos are chained, confined to tiny exhibits, and denied everything that is natural and important to them.

 

Why do PETA and Ribbsaeter want to break the chains of zoo cruelty? Nearly all elephants in captivity were captured in the wild, and even though wild populations are dwindling, zoos are still capturing elephants. In the wild, these animals spend their entire lives with their close-knit families. But in zoos, they are separated from their families as babies and sentenced to lifetimes of boredom, crippling loneliness, and even abuse, which leads to continuous swaying, head-bobbing, and other abnormal behavior. A lack of exercise and long hours spent standing on hard surfaces are major contributors to foot infections and arthritis, which are the leading causes of death among captive elephants.

 

"Even the biggest zoos cannot provide the space, exercise, privacy, mental stimulation, and other complex needs of elephants," says PETA's Rebecca Chui. "These majestic animals are chained and locked up like criminals, even though they've committed no crimes."

 

For more information, please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com.

 

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