One Direction criticised for using chimp in Steal My Girl video

Emma Brant | BBC | 31st October 2014

An Animal rights group has stepped up its criticism of One Direction after the band used a chimp in their Steal My Girl video.

The charity has released a full-page advert in The Hollywood Reporter with the words "'No animals were harmed', really One Direction?".

It also goes on to state that animals are subjected to "abusive training" in the film industry.

The band's video also shows a lion, flamingos and sheep.

It goes on to state that wild animals are often subjected to "abusive training methods" in the film industry.

The charity also claims the animal trainer used on the video, Steve Martin, has a bad reputation for animal welfare.

Martin has previously denied all such claims and the production company, Fulwell 73, which is behind One Direction's video, claimed it chose the trainer carefully for "his exemplary treatment of animals".

A statement was released last week by Peta urging One Direction to cut the animal scenes from their music video.

"Peta is asking the boys [to] immediately cut the scene with the chimpanzee and the other wild animals, pledge never to work with animals again and donate a percentage of the proceeds from the song to an organisation that rescues chimpanzees and cares for them properly," the statement said.

Fulwell 73 responded to the animal rights charity in a statement.

"We have the upmost respect for organisations such as Peta and we support them greatly for their passion and incredible dedication," it said.

"We vetted Steve Martin closely and chose him based on his exemplary treatment of animals, his highly regarded reward-based training, and his history in contributing to animal conservation educational programs."

According to the production company, Steve Martin has also worked with animals on the film sets of The Bourne Legacy, True Blood, The Zookeeper and Dances With Wolves.

One Direction are yet to comment.

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