ARFF - Jungle Island



	Affection for animals leads many well-meaning people to visit zoos like Jungle Island (formerly known as "Parrot Jungle"). However, behind the artificial "habitats" and colorful shows lies a world of hidden cruelty.
	Jungle Island is a glorified roadside zoo that lost its accreditation from The American Zoo and Aquarium Association because of: Poor animal care. Parrots confined in stark environments with no retreat from visitors. The removal of young primates from their mothers so that they can be used in shows. The disposal of older animals. Animals allowed to have extensive contact with the public.

	*Update* (March 2008): Recently, the breakfast cereal company Weetabix contacted ARFF to learn more about Jungle Island. The company was thinking about sponsoring an event at the facility, but became uneasy about the idea after learning that Jungle Island allows and promotes the photographing of young children with young animals, like chimpanzees, orangutans and tigers (these animals can only be used for this purpose as babies, therefore creating a never ending cycle of breeding and disposing of babies). We informed Weetabix that associating their company with such animal exploitation would likely be offensive to many of their customers who care about the welfare of animals. They quickly agreed to pull the plug on the idea, telling ARFF, "Weetabix and our trading companies are associated with trusted conservation groups… and would never want to be associated with an exploitative venture that harms animals.”

	Cradle Robbers At Jungle Island baby animals are exploited from the day they are born. Newborns are torn from their mothers prematurely. Still nursing, these frightened, helpless infants are then subjected to large crowds and are plopped into the laps of countless people for a photo souvenir. Aside from the tremendous stress this inflicts on the animals, it also creates the need for a constant supply of baby animals — compounding a nationwide crisis of unwanted exotic animals. Dumping of Older Animals Once babies outgrow their usefulness as crowd pleasers they are disposed of. The owners of Jungle Island discarded an elderly chimpanzee named Edith, who was sent to live at a roadside menagerie in Texas in a filthy, barren enclosure, filled with feces and swarming with flies and maggots. Tragically, Edith’s situation is a common fate for older animals used by Jungle Island. Involuntary Performers Unlike human performers, the animals used in shows at Jungle Island don't have a choice. They are forced to perform, often enduring rigorous training sessions which include violent beatings, deprivation of food and water, intense confinement and many other forms of cruel intimidation. One of Jungle Island's head trainers, Doc Antle, has over 150 violations of the Animal Welfare Act and is notorious for his abusive training techniques.

	Jungle Island: Stop Exploiting Great Apes in Television Shows and Commercials! In June 2005, primate expert Dr. Jane Goodall, the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, and The Chimpanzee Collaboratory, sent urgent appeals to sponsors of Jungle Island, pleading for help to convince the zoo to stop supplying great apes for use in television shows and commercials. In 2005, two baby orangutans from Jungle Island were featured on an episode of The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie. In May 2006, a young orangutan from Jungle Island was featured in a television commercial for Bennett Auto Supply. (Left: Jungle Island promotional photo) Click here to read Dr. Goodall's letter (.pdf document). In her letter, Dr. Goodall explains to Jungle Island sponsors that baby orangutans are traumatically separated from their mothers prematurely, causing severe behavioral problems. Dr. Goodall also points to the beatings and electrical shocks given to babies as part of the training it takes to turn apes into performers. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida and the Chimpanzee Collaboratory echo these concerns and ask this urgent question: Where will Jungle Island’s ape actors go for the remaining 50 years of their lives after they mature and become too strong to be dominated by trainers? Many great apes used in television shows and films are destined for deplorable roadside zoos, medical experiments, or euthanasia. Even The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) has spoken out against the use of chimpanzees in this manner. In February 2004, the AZA wrote, "The use of chimpanzees and other great apes for entertainment such as this creates terribly wrong perceptions of these animals, who are highly endangered in their native Africa." It is utterly irresponsible for Jungle Island’s owner, Bern Levine, to continue to add to the exploitation of these animals by leasing them out as forced performers in television shows or commercials. In the words of Jane Goodall, “The time has come to move beyond the misuse of creatures who are vulnerable to our exploitation precisely because they are so like us.”

	What You Can Do? Please contact the following Jungle Island sponsors and let them know that while you appreciate their business’ contribution to our community, by sponsoring Jungle Island they are helping to promote a cruel industry that rips baby apes away from their mothers and uses brutal training tactics to force them to perform difficult and demeaning tricks. Urge them to do what they can to convince Jungle Island to stop using great apes in television shows and commercials, or withdraw their support of this abusive attraction. Online comment form. Online comment form.

	Click here to download ARFF's brochure about captive exotic birds (PDF file; black and white version).