The final One Direction "Steal My Girl" music video teaser landed today and it features Louis Tomlinson with the clue "danger." He pulls it off adorably with the help of some wild friends - a lion and a chimpanzee (wearing red sunglasses).He even gets in a little cuddle time with the chimp. It's all really cute...but, as these things go, not everyone is too pleased that the monkey is part of the new 1D video.
Animal rights charity Wild Futures has sent a letter to the band which lays out their problem with the chimp in the video:
"We are very saddened to see that you are using a wild animal, a chimpanzee, in one of your promotional videos. Wild Futures is very concerned about the use of wild animal 'actors' and in particular the use of primates. We are a primate welfare and conservation charity that supports projects around the world, works with governments to protect primates and we have a sanctuary in the UK for victims of the pet and entertainment industries.
We know that you would not deliberately abuse any animal, but believe that these situations arise because of a lack of understanding or knowledge of the reality for primate 'actors.'
Wild animals used as actors may appear to be well-treated on set or in training (though there is plenty evidence that this is not always the case), but our concern is that the very process employed to make these animals tractable and safe to work with involves depriving them of their natural 'identity', opportunities for natural behaviour and is detrimental to the animals' health and welfare. Young primates, for example, are taken away from their mothers before weaning age, which can cause lasting psychological damage, and adversely affect physical development of the young monkey's brain."