Telus, stop using hippo in ads
Date: December 8, 2005
Humane Society says exploiting animals in ad campaign is wrong
(The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is calling on telecommunications company Telus to stop using exotic animals in its advertising campaigns. The call comes after it emerged that the hippopotamus appearing in Telus’s latest ads is Hazina, the long-suffering baby hippo held by the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
Hazina has been kept alone in a small, concrete barn at the zoo for more than a year. At VHS’s request the BC Ministry of the Environment has agreed to examine her conditions. The BCSPCA has also launched an investigation into Hazina’s treatment.
In a letter to Telus VHS states:
“When advertisers and film companies use exotic and wild animals they support the captive animal industry, which includes not just zoos but also animal rental agencies and individual collectors who make money from their animals. Underpinning this industry is the sordid and often illegal trade in wild and exotic species.
“When the cameras stop rolling, these animals are returned to conditions that cannot possibly replicate their natural habitats. Instead, they are put back in cages, tanks or pens where they can never engage in the natural behaviours that their native environment would allow. Your use of Hazina serves only to perpetuate this endless cycle of exploitation and inhumane captivity.”
