According to PETA, the job search website CareerBuilder.com is planning to continue their not-so-proud tradition of using real, live chimpanzees in their big-dollar Super Bowl commercials again in 2011. CareerBuilder has done several spots featuring chimps. PETA, with an assist from actress Angelica Huston is calling on CareerBuilder's CEO, Matt Ferguson, to pull the ad (it's already been made) on principle.

Ferguson, in a company-issued statement, says that everything on the set was on the up-and-up: "...we followed strict guidelines to ensure our chimpanzee stars were treated well and not harmed in any way."

The problem is, what happens on the set itself is usually the least of a chimp's worries. It's what happens before and after their acting "career" that's really damaging. First, most of the chimps used in advertising are pretty young animals; often, they're taken away from their mothers before they're emotionally ready to be away.

And, their "careers" in entertainment are usually pretty short. Chimpanzees are strong, and sometimes aggressive, animals. According to PETA, by the time a chimp gets to be about eight years old, they're usually unmanageable for commercial shoots. Then, they end up in research facilities, or perhaps worse, unaccredited zoos and animal shows.

Once people find out about the hell that chimps go through when they're used for advertising, they wise up and change their ways. Ask CareerBuilder to stop using chimpanzees in their commercials.

Photo credit: Thomas Lersch