On December 30, "The Tonight Show," on NBC at 11:30 p.m., featured a
woman with a chicken act. She made an obviously scared chicken jump
through a hoop from one elevated table to another, with a space in
between, boasting that there was "no net." She also made a chicken "walk
the tight rope" about 7 feet high, again boasting "no net." Jay Leno and
his guests made comments like "Do you sleep with the chickens?" and
references to Col. Sanders. This woman and The Tonight Show put these
birds in danger and made fun of them. Please protest to:
- Debra Vickers, producer of The Tonight Show at
Debbie.vickers@nbc.com.
-
NBC at webstaff@wnbc.com
-
American Humane Association. Go to
http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=wh_contact_us_survey
AHA is empowered to oversee and stop media-related cruelty.
Please urge Debra Vickers and NBC to keep chickens, other animals, and
all animal stunts off the air. Urge them to confine their live
performance bookings to human guests. Request a response to your
specific concern as soon as possible. Thank you, United Poultry
Concerns.
Letter to the Debbie Vickers from United Poultry
Concerns
January 8, 2003
Ms. Debbie Vickers, Producer
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
3000 West Alameda Avenue
Burbank, CA 91523
Debbie.vickers@nbc.com
Dear Ms. Vickers:
As much as we enjoy The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, may we ask you,
please, to refrain from booking acts in which animals are used? In
particular, I and many other viewers were distressed and offended by
a woman who appeared on the show on December 30th with "chicken
acts." However benign such acts may appear to be, behind the scenes a
whole different set of circumstances pertains. I respectfully ask
that you consider the ordeal these birds are put through to get them
to perform on command, on stage, amid cameras, noise, bright lights
and other features natural to consenting human performers, but not to
these birds. Please question the humorous value, apart from the
meanest derision, of having a chicken jump from one table to another
or walk a tightrope. While the moment of snickering over these
chickens is brief for the audience, the stress imposed on the birds
to create this moment is long-a long, tedious, meaningless stress,
apart from the fact that they, like all of us, fear the punishment of
having their food withheld or other penalty that may follow a bad
performance.
I have directed a bird sanctuary for fifteen years. We have adopted
hundreds of abused chickens into our sanctuary and rehabilitated
them. Chickens are smart, friendly, affectionate, sociable, and
vibrant birds designed by nature to be outside where they can forage,
run about, perch, sunbathe, and dustbathe-in other words, express
their natural behavior as chickens.
We ask you, please, in the future, to leave off making jokes about
and forcing behavior out of other animal species and to confine your
entertainment to human participants. Please use your splendid
opportunity to promote a kinder, more appreciative view of the other
creatures who share the earth with us and who deserve our kindness
and respect.
Thank you very much for your attention to our concerns. We would
greatly appreciate a response from you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
12325 Seaside Road
Machipongo, VA 23405 USA
Phone: 757-678-7875. Fax: 757-678-5070
www.UPC-online.org
C: NBC at webstaff@wnbc.com
www.americanhumane.org
United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
757-678-7875
FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org
(Action Alert - Protest Chicken Abuse on NBC's "Tonight Show.")
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