Use graphic, not real chimpanzee: PETA to director Don Sandy

New Delhi : People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Monday urged film director Don Sandy to replace a real chimpanzee with a computer generated graphic for his upcoming film.

PETA said that it had learned that a chimpanzee named Kong will appear in the upcoming movie Gorilla starring Jiiva and Shalini Pandey.

"Replace Kong with cutting-edge computer-generated imagery (CGI) and never to feature live animals in his films again," said PETA. 

Their letter cautioned that the public was increasingly aware of and disgusted by the psychological and physical abuse inherent in forcing a chimpanzee to "act".

PETA pointed out that animals undergo harsh and cruel training for such films. The training of the chimpanzee, according to PETA is going on at Thailand.

Pointing out examples of graphics used in films like Jungle Book and Planet of Apes, PETA said, "forward-thinking filmmakers and directors know that the future of film lies in technical wizardry, not in beating animals into performing." 

"Eyewitness investigations have revealed that trainers often punch, kick, beat, and even electrically shock apes during behind-the-scenes training sessions and on set in order to ensure that they perform correctly in the fewest takes possible," Sachin Bangera from PETA said in the letter, also marked to Prasoon Joshi, Chairperson, Censor Board of Film Certification.

"We've matured as an industry and realised that [using real great apes in film] would be intolerable and cruel," the letter said.