Chimpanzees' tea party

Depiction of a chimpanzee in a zoo drinking tea

The chimpanzee tea party was a form of public entertainment in which chimpanzees were dressed in human clothes and provided with a table of food and drink.[1][2][3]

The first such tea party was held at the London Zoo in 1926, two years after the opening of Monkey Hill.[4][5] They were put on almost daily during the summer until they were discontinued in 1972.[6] Tea parties were also adopted by other institutions seeking to draw crowds.[1][4][5][2] The chimps, adorned in hats, dresses, and other garments, would engage in activities reminiscent of a sophisticated tea party, such as sipping from cups, nibbling on snacks, and interacting with each other in playful ways.[3][2][1] This idea was even used for marketing techniques in the 1900s.[3] They were the inspiration for the PG Tips television advertisements which began in 1956.[7][3] Neil Heath notes that teaching chimps human behaviors and using them in advertising campaigns raised animal welfare concerns, leading to the discontinuation of these practices.[3]

History

Cutout of an Chimpazees' tea party made by Anne Frank

The Chimpanzee Tea Party began in the London Zoo in 1926 as an attraction for displaying the Zoo's primates.[1][6] The Wellington Zoo also displayed Chimpanzee Tea Parties around this time, ending them in 1956.[2] The phenomenon reached numerous other zoos, spreading to New York, Moscow, and New Zealand, among other places.[1] The act became so popular and well-known that in 1956 the Mayor of Auckland was photographed having tea with chimps from London.[1] The Chimpanzee Tea Party also influenced the beginning of the chimp-themed PG Tips commercials.[3] The chimps also acted out other human characters such as men moving furniture and women ironing laundry.[8]

Once the zoo shows gained popularity in London, this event spread to the marketing world. Notably, companies like PG Tips seized upon the appeal of trained chimpanzees and monkeys to craft television advertisements.[3][7] PG Tips used them for television ads from 1956 to 2002, as the chimps proved very popular with audiences.[3] The practice of the Chimpanzee Tea Party generally fell out of favor around the 1970s, although in a few cases, it continued into the 2000s.[1][2][3][7]

Causes

Originating as a means to enhance the appeal of zoos and attract larger audiences, the introduction of animals into zoo shows emerged as a popular form of entertainment in the early 1900s.[9] Spearheaded by institutions such as the London Zoo, these shows showcased the abilities of chimpanzees and other animals, drawing visitors from distant locales and establishing a trend that transcended geographical boundaries into many other countries.[1]

Impacts

As popularity rose, The London Zoo began shipping out the juvenile tea party chimps to other zoos and institutions.[1] Allen, Park, and Watt contend that the treatment of the chimps in the Chimpanzee Tea Party reflect the attitude of Euro-Americans toward dark-skinned people as well as children or babies.[1] This attitude expects the subject groups to act in an impolite manner which is also expected of the chimps in the Chimpanzee Tea Party.[1] The discontinuation of this practice was a decision based on both financial consideration and changes in zoo policies based on the changing of the generalized idea of acceptable treatment of animals and entertainment standards.[1] Allen, Parker, and Watt state the tea party chimps were linked to many important topics such as views on youth, status, morals, etc.[1]

Chimpanzees faced some behavioral changes due to the training for Chimpanzee Tea Parties.[3] This changed behavior hindered the socialization of the trained chimps with their untrained comrades, and it led to increased isolation and human reliance, along with occasional aggressive outbursts.[3][7]

Animal rights

The discontinuation of PG Tips' chimpanzee ads was applauded by advocates for animal rights, who viewed the move as an important advance.[2][8] The Animal Welfare Act 2006 in the United Kingdom added restrictions to the treatment of animals, further curtailing their use in entertainment.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Allen, John S.; Park, Julie; Watt, Sharon L. (January 2008). "The Chimpanzee Tea Party: Anthropomorphism, Orientalism, and Colonialism". ResearchGate. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wassilieff, Maggy (24 November 2008). "Zoos and aquariums". Te Ara. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "PG Tips chimps: The last of the tea-advertising apes". BBC News. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Animals in human histories: the mirror of nature and culture. By Mary J. Henninger-Voss. Boydell & Brewer, 2002. Page 281.
  5. 1 2 "Zoo Tea Room for Apes—Lesson in Table Manners." Daily Mail. 6 April 1927.
  6. 1 2 Monsters of our own making: the peculiar pleasures of fear By Marina Warner. University Press of Kentucky, 2007. Page 335.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Laws, Roz (12 January 2015). "'You hum it son, I'll play it' Remember the PG Tips advert tea chimps?". Coventry Live. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  8. 1 2 Blackstock, Colin (12 January 2002). "Tea party over as PG Tips chimps are given the bird". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Forsythe, Dawn (10 March 2011). "Did your zoo have a chimp show 1940 - 1975?". ZooChat. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  10. ↑ "Animal Welfare Act 2006", Wikipedia, 7 February 2024, retrieved 21 March 2024
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