![]() ![]() ![]() Many seemed just amazed that a chimpanzee could smoke a cigarette. Some of them were taking pictures with their cell phones, some took video off their phones too. “People seemed to be entertained and laughed in delight when she started to puff the cigarette and then light a fresh cigarette with the previous one. “I did not see anyone mortified,” she added. Wong said zoo-goers were amused, laughing at the sight in front of them. It was part of her ‘song and dance’ number.” It seemed to be a routine and part of the entertainment factor. She then lit her cigarette, and then threw the lighter back towards the keeper who was standing among the visitors still. He threw the cigarette into the exhibit and after she went to pick it up, he made her gesture with two hands out as he threw a lighter to her. “Then later on, he asked a member of the audience for a cigarette and a lighter. He would also break into a little tune for her and she would circle round as if she was dancing,” she added. “She would perform little tricks like touch her nose, bow and raise her arms to greet visitors. The exhibit is simple, with a moat separating people from the enclosure, and a handful of visitors from school children to the elderly were in that area as the keeper shouted instructions at Dallae. ![]() In the United States, there is no such ban. A number of other countries have similar bans, including New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, and Germany. In an email with TIME, she described how the scene unfolded. Bans On Chimpanzee Experimentation: Laboratory testing on chimpanzees humans’ closest living relative, and other great apes was effectively banned in the United Kingdom in 1997. AP noted that renovations to the zoo, built in 1959, began two years back in an effort by leader Kim Jong Un to construct additional leisure centers around Pyongyang. Read more: Peek inside North Korea through a new set of eyesĪlongside colleagues who were visiting on a business trip, Wong and Talmadge went to the zoo that had reopened over the summer and now welcomes thousands of daily visitors. Part of that includes covering mass staged events, but she also hopes to lift the veil and focus on daily life or the quieter moments. She and Eric Talmadge, the AP’s Pyongyang bureau chief, try to make monthly visits into the country for about 10 days each. Wong, based in Singapore, became the organization’s lead photographer in North Korea in 2014. “Gradually, zoos are learning that spectacles like chimpanzee tea parties, elephant rides and photo ops with tiger cubs are inappropriate and exploitive, with the big question now being, why are we keeping wild animals behind bars at all?” “How cruel to willfully addict a chimpanzee to tobacco for human amusement,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement released to TIME. Pictures from the visit, shot by longtime AP photographer Wong Maye-E, garnered attention and prompted a sharp rebuke from advocates against animal abuse. The 19-year-old female chimpanzee named Azalea-her Korean nickname is “Dallae”-smokes about a pack each day and can light them herself when tossed a lighter or an already-lit cigarette from a trainer, AP reports. Zoo officials in Pyongyang told the Associated Press during a visit on Wednesday that she doesn’t inhale, but animal rights activists still aren’t pleased. Instead, the Kiwi director admitted that Bubbles is "about a chimpanzee's fascinating journey through the complex jungle of human life." Don't expect Bubbles to take any cheap shot or digs at Michael Jackson, too, as Waititi declared himself such a huge fan of the pop star that his main ambition is to "make sure it's respectful of him and his legacy.Yes, that’s a real chimpanzee smoking a real cigarette. I'm not interested in making a biopic I want to focus on telling a story that blends fact and fantasy, about an animal trying to make sense of the world.īecause of this ambition, Taika Waititi insisted, "I think animation is the only way to approach a story like this." Waititi also noted that making a film about Michael Jackson's life wasn't a story that he'd feel comfortable telling. Taika Waititi spoke to Deadline about Bubbles, explaining Meanwhile, Mark Gustafson is currently working as co-director with Guillermo del Toro on Pinocchio. Starburns drew plenty of plaudits last year for their work on Anomalisa, which was nominated for the Best Animated Film at the Academy Awards. There's a lot of comedic talent involved in Bubbles, too, as it comes from Dan Harmon's Starburns Industries. Taika Waititi, who is currently working hard to get Thor: Ragnarok ready for its release in November, isn't going it alone on Bubbles, though, as he will be joined by co-director Mark Gustafson on the stop-motion animated feature film. ![]()
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