We at the Jane Goodall Institute recently saw articles showcasing a video of a juvenile chimpanzee using a cell phone. Unfortunately, and likely not clear the writers and readers, this is an awful portrayal of a captive live juvenile chimpanzee. We hope the articles and the video will be taken down and that we can as a community commit to better policies around showcasing and caring for captive animals (and wild). We also hope statements/explanations about the decision to remove the articles and the video are made to help improve awareness and understanding of the issue.

I am very disappointed to see the inappropriate portrayal of a juvenile chimpanzee in this video which is currently circulating on social media. Chimpanzees are highly social animals, very intelligent and have complex emotions like humans – it is imperative that we portray them appropriately and that they receive the best possible care in captive environments. Portraying chimpanzees in this way on social media is also perpetuating the illegal pet trade in great apes, and as they cannot be domesticated, interactions with humans as displayed by this video are highly dangerous, as well as harmful to the well-being of the chimpanzee. As responsible and compassionate individuals, I hope anyone who sees the video will not like, share or comment on it and all responsible media outlets change the coverage of the video to highlight stories of chimpanzees in wild or responsible captive care. And I hope and urge the people who have chimpanzees in their care will cease use of him in this way and join those of us who are working to end the cruel treatment of chimpanzees in entertainment. – Dr. Jane Goodall

There are several reasons why the video is highly problematic, and both perpetuates the inappropriate handling of this chimpanzee, and larger threats to great apes (both captive and in the wild) including:

http://news.janegoodall.org/2019/04/25/inappropriate-videos-on-social-media-are-hurting-chimpanzees/