The TV networks have been notably, um, unenthusiastic about running PETA's Super Bowl ads, so this year PETA is planning to take its message directly to the players and fans by placing billboards in the teams' hometowns of New York and Boston as well as Indianapolis, which is hosting the game, making an irreverent plea for people to put down the chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday.

Chickens © iStockphoto.com/Sunnybeach

Why Worry About Wings?

It's estimated that some 600 million chickens are killed for the wings consumed just during the Super Bowl. Yikes! And that's after the abuse they all suffered through on factory farms.

Not only is this wing-eating obsession cruel, it also shows a lack of imagination. After all, there are so many mouth-watering alternatives to the old same-old same-old. For vegan game-day treats that will satisfy the most ravenous sports fan, check out these recipes for fab finger foods that won't cost birds their limbs.

Try Tasty Alternatives!

If your party guests insist on being served wings, try the meatless variety, like Gardein's buffalo "wings"—the choice of the NFL's Ricky Williams—or just roll your own!

Did you ever wonder what happens to the chimpanzees CareerBuilder uses in its Super Bowl ads when the company is done exploiting them?

The lucky ones end up at the Center for Great Apes sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida, which took in Bella, Ellie, Kodua, and Mowgli, all veterans of CareerBuilder's 2005 Super Bowl ad campaign. 
 

Bella

Ellie

Kodua

Mowgli

 
The four young chimpanzees were turned over to the center when they grew too old (and strong) to be useful to CareerBuilder or anybody else in need of their "acting" services. Like other chimpanzee actors, Ellie, Mowgli, Bella, and Kodua were ripped from their mothers when they were babies and put to work. By age 8, young chimpanzees are too powerful to be handled, and most are shuffled off to roadside zoos, pseudo-sanctuaries, and backyard cages.

As Center for Great Apes founder Patti Ragan points out in a recent post on the sanctuary's website, "Those lucky enough to end up in an established sanctuary have to be supported by donations for the rest of their lives …." Considering the fact that chimpanzees can live into their 50s, she estimates that "it could take millions of dollars to provide [lifelong] care for the actors that sold CareerBuilder to the public." Wonder how much money CareerBuilder plans to spend on their care …

Fortunately, after pressure from PETA, at least 18 advertising agencies, including the top three U.S. agencies (McCann Erickson, BBDO, and Young & Rubicam), have agreed never to use great apes in their ads again. In an online editorial, Ad Age magazine supports the trend: "Over the past few years, you may have noticed fewer and fewer commercials featuring apes .... That's a positive development, but the fact is there should be none. … It's time to stop using them for the sake of selling product."

Are you listening, CareerBuilder?

Written by Michelle Sherrow

For me, the highlight of the 2010 Super Bowl wasn't the Saints' inspiring victory in their first Super Bowl appearance but rather the abundance of animal-friendly commercials that ran between touchdowns. That's why I was saddened to hear that CareerBuilder is planning to run a commercial featuring real chimpanzees during the 2011 Super Bowl, even though the company was bombarded with thousands of letters from concerned people after airing similar ads in 2005 and 2006. CareerBuilder knows by now that chimpanzees used in the entertainment industry are physically abused, torn away from their mothers when they're babies, and usually abandoned by the age of 8, but apparently it just doesn't care.

Anjelica Huston has now joined with the thousands of PETA supporters who have written letters to CareerBuilder urging the company to can this cruel ad. If you haven't already done so, please remind CareerBuilder that there is nothing funny about cruelty to animals and urge the company to cut the monkey business.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post