Soap Opera Drops Orangutan Character!

Update! Passions has announced that its March 24, 2005, episode was the last one to feature the orangutan character! Read more. Please send letters of thanks to the executive producer of Passions.

For nearly three years, NBC has included an orangutan “nurse and caregiver” character in the script of its soap opera Passions. The facility that provides the show with its current orangutan, Bam Bam, will stop training and leasing great apes in March. Fortunately, Bam Bam will be sent to a legitimate sanctuary, unlike most orangutans and chimpanzees used in entertainment.

The apes used in these productions are taken from their mothers when they are a few days old and have not even reached the age of natural weaning. The result is permanent emotional scarring for both the babies and their mothers. The young animals then must endure cruel treatment during behind-the-scenes training, including beatings with clubs, fists, and even broom handles. Once they are 8 years old, they are too strong to be managed and are often dumped at poorly run roadside zoos or warehoused in horrific conditions.

Please send a polite letter to the executive producer of Passions asking her to ensure that the orangutan character is written out of the show for good:

Lisa de Cazotte
Executive Producer
Passions
4024 Radford Ave.
Studio City, CA 91604
818-655-5454
818-655-8375 (fax)
Passions@nbcuni.com