Celebrities Speak Out Against Killing of Chimpanzees for Human Consumption

In a powerful public service announcement, nationally acclaimed artists lend their voices to chimpanzee conservation. In their native French, celebrity musicians denounce the killing and consumption of chimpanzees as cruel and primitive. IDA-Africa wages the only media campaign in Cameroon aimed at changing attitudes and behaviors by raising awareness of the endangered status of great apes and the laws against killing, capturing, selling, or eating them. Branching out from radio into television, new hard-hitting ads with well-known celebrities will amp up IDA-Africa's voice, impacting more people than ever before. The commercial trade in chimpanzee meat is pushing endangered chimpanzees dangerously close to extinction. Ape meat is not consumed out of necessity; it is a cultural preference that has, as chimpanzees and gorillas have become rare and their meat more expensive, become a status symbol. A world-wide demand for ape meat is fed by an illegal market in which hunters reach remote forests via roads built by logging companies. The deforestation of Cameroon fuels the bushmeat trade like wind fuels a fire. Fighting the powerful bushmeat trade requires a strong, multi-faceted approach to which IDA-Africa is committed. Running a television ad is very expensive: a single broadcast of the 45 second spot costs between $200-300. Our initial campaign goal is to air the ad three times daily on all channels for a total of eight weeks, costing nearly $100,000. With your help, we will reach thousands of people with a powerful message. Visit www.IDA-Africa.org to see the newly produced television piece. Please contribute today to help put this ad on the air. Visit www.ida-africa.org to make a donation or send your contribution to IDA-Africa 700 SW 126th Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97005. Call 503-643-8302 for more information.

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YouTube | December 1, 2008

Tags:. .deforestation. .multifaceted. .hardhitting. .chimpanzees. .cameroon