Action Alerts
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Exploits Exotic Animals
March 3, 2008
The 2008 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue features disturbing photographs of a model posing with a macaque dressed in clothing and a bear wearing a muzzle at the Russian Standard Vodka Distillery in St. Petersburg. You can view two of the photos here and here.
What you can do:
Please email Sports Illustrated and tell them that exploiting exotic animals for entertainment is absolutely unacceptable. Let them know that their support of animal cruelty has not gone unnoticed.
Email: letters@si.timeinc.com
*If you send an email, please BCC Primate Patrol at primatepatrol@chimpsanctuarynw.org for tracking purposes.
Sample Letter/Email
[Date]
Dear Sports Illustrated,
The latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue contains truly shocking and disturbing photographs of a model posing with a macaque and a bear on location at a Russian vodka distillery. I wanted to let you know that exotic animals typically endure excessively brutal training methods at the hands of their trainers, who dominate the animals and force them to perform unnatural behaviors for the camera.
In addition to welfare concerns, using exotic animals for entertainment sends terrible messages to the public - including the misconception that wild animals make good pets, which couldn't be further from the truth. Please make the responsible decision never to exploit exotic animals in your publication again. I look forward to hearing from you on this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]