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It's official: Oprah will end her show in 2011. Feel that collective surge of sadness? We sure do. Oprah's groundbreaking program has transcended the talk-show format and has paved the way for social and political change. In honor of PETA's 2008 Person of the Year and her show's long run, we're revisiting Oprah's best animal-friendly episodes:

• Oprah's week-long move from Chicago to Amarillo was the move followed 'round the world. She captivated millions with her court appearance to defend her 1995 episode that revealed the horrors of a beef industry rampant with mad cow disease.
• Inspired by guest Kathy Freston's book Quantum Wellness, Oprah went vegan for three weeks and marveled, "I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying."
• Oprah dedicated an entire episode to exposing the stifling, crippling conditions of chickens, cows, and pigs on factory farms as Californians prepared to vote on Proposition 2. The measure passed by a large majority—in part thanks to her revealing show.
• After Oprah saw a billboard off the Kennedy Expressway that read, "Oprah: Do a show on puppy mills. The dogs need you," she immediately jumped at the opportunity to save lives. Just a few minutes of her horrifying exposé were enough to convince viewers that adopting from an animal shelter is the only way to go.
• My food envy was raging when Chef Tal Ronnen cooked his "Chicken" Scallopini and other delectable vegan meals on a recent episode of the show.
• When Charla Nash decided to show her face to the public for the first time earlier this month, it's no surprise that she chose to do it on Oprah's show.

The media mogul may be bidding farewell to her legendary talk show, but with the upcoming launch of her new cable network, we're sure that we'll be seeing a lot more of her for a long time to come.

Posted by Logan Scherer

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When it comes to weekday talk-show fare, it's no surprise that I'm partial to Ellen and Oprah. Today, however, some props go out to Tyra Banks for following up on a feature that set off alarm bells here at PETA.

A few days ago, The Tyra Banks Show aired a segment about a woman who gushed about her "pet" capuchin monkey. Sure, capuchins are cute and smart, but the "Joe Blows" who buy baby monkeys soon realize that they cannot control the strong animals after they outgrow their diapers. Case in point: Oprah's recent interview with Charla Nash, who barely survived an attack by her friend's 15-year-old chimpanzee, Travis. And while capuchins are much smaller than chimpanzees, they are still very strong and very fast, and they have extremely sharp canines that can quickly do a great deal of damage to an unwitting person.

Consequently, many monkeys are discarded at pseudo-sanctuaries and shoddy roadside zoos because there simply aren't enough reputable sanctuaries to care for them all. Some species can live to be well into their 50s, and many primates who are abandoned by their "owners" face decades of misery in appalling conditions.

We wrote to Tyra Banks to express our concern that some viewers might be tempted to purchase a monkey of their own after seeing the segment on her show. We're heartened to learn that she's added a warning on her Web site stating, "Please note, PETA has contacted the show and does not recommend keeping monkeys as pets."

Folks, please let other people know that when it comes to capuchins and other exotic animals, the most humane action is always: "Monkey see, monkey do … not buy one!"

Posted by Karin Bennett

Earlier this year, Travis, a 15-year-old "pet" chimpanzee, was stabbed repeatedly, pounded with a shovel, and finally shot to death after he attacked a Connecticut woman named Charla Nash. Yesterday, Ms. Nash, who has been in a hospital since the attack, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and spoke for the first time about her recovery. During the show, Nash declared her readiness to move on and said that she had an optimistic outlook on the future.

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The images of Nash are shocking, her buoyant hopefulness is inspiring, and both of those points should prompt another look at Travis' trajectory from his days as a baby chimpanzee to his years as a confined adult "pet." Travis, who appeared in several commercials when he was an infant, was just one of many exotic animals who have been torn away from their mothers at a young age in order to be raised by people who don't fully understand their needs.

Once chimpanzees reach adolescence, they become too strong and aggressive for their guardians to handle. They are then often abandoned at roadside zoos or—as was the case with Travis—stay in the home of a person who remains unaware of their tremendous strength until it's too late.

Chimpanzees and other exotic animals were never meant to be confined to people's homes, and keeping them as "pets" can often be lethal to both the animals and those who live near them.

Posted by Logan Scherer

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I hope your closets are prepared, because I'm sure this bit of news will have you rushing out to stock up on vegan sweaters and skinny jeans. Both Levi's and Gap Inc. have pledged not to use great apes in future advertising campaigns!

Following the tragic death of Travis, a chimpanzee who formerly starred in Old Navy commercials, PETA approached Levi's and Old Navy's parent company, Gap Inc. (which also owns Gap and Banana Republic), to ask the companies not use apes in any future ads. Executives for both companies knew that their choice was clear once they learned that young apes who are used in commercials are ripped away from their mothers when they are only days old, trained by being beaten, kicked, and punched, and then discarded to live in filthy roadside zoos when they are too old and strong to handle.

Gap Inc. and Levi's join other progressive companies and organizations that have also signed our pledge, including Harris Teeter, SEGA, Honda, PUMA, Subaru, Keds, Yahoo!, and The Ad Council.

And, because we are never ones to let compassionate acts go unrewarded, we are sending both companies thank-you gifts for a job well done.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

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The recent attack on a Connecticut woman by a chimpanzee named Travis served as stark reminder that great apes should never be kept as "pets" or used for entertainment. In the wake of this tragedy, we are happy to announce that Young & Rubicam (Y&R) (the fourth largest ad agency in America) has called on all its offices worldwide not to use great apes in any future advertising campaigns.

In a commentary that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Jane Goodall explains that the widespread portrayal of chimpanzees as cute clowns in ads, TV shows, and movies has misled the public about the dangers they pose. "Only a month ago," she writes, "Americans watching the Super Bowl may have laughed at an ad in which chimpanzees dressed as mechanics worked on a car. … Is it any wonder viewers might think that chimpanzees would make great pets?"

Y&R joins other progressive companies, including SEGA, Honda, PUMA, Subaru, Keds, Yahoo!, and The Ad Council, that have also pledged not to use great apes in ads.

Icing on the cake? Even the U.S. government is doing its part. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban the interstate transport of primates for use as pets. The bill is now going to the Senate, so please urge your senator to support this important legislation.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

After hearing about the death of Travis, the captive chimpanzee who was shot after mauling a woman in Connecticut, Oscar winner Anjelica Huston—who has long been an advocate for the compassionate treatment of great apes—issued the following statement:

I was saddened to hear about the incident involving the chimpanzee, Travis, and my heart goes out to the woman who is now lying in a hospital bed as a result of this horrific attack. Recently, I narrated a video for PETA about the abuse that chimpanzees and other great apes endure when they are ripped away from their mothers when only days old to be used in commercials (as Travis was) and movies. Although I was sick when I heard about this most recent incident, I wasn't surprised. I sincerely hope that this tragedy will make people realize that great apes should never be kept as pets or exploited for films, television, or advertising. Their lives are miserable from the day that they are taken from their mothers: They endure abusive training—usually beatings—until they are cast off to roadside zoos or meet a violent end, as Travis did in this tragic case.

If you haven't watched Anjelica's video yet, you can view it here:

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You can help prevent future tragedies like this one by urging Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell to ban the private ownership of chimpanzees.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

On Monday, a 15-year-old chimpanzee named Travis, who was kept as a "pet" by a woman in Connecticut, went on a rampage and mauled a visitor. Travis was stabbed multiple times, "pounded" with a shovel, and eventually shot to death.

A former "star" of Coca-Cola and Old Navy commercials and an episode of the Maury Povich Show, Travis was "raised almost like a child by this family," according to a police officer. Great—except that 200-pound chimpanzees aren't children.

Keeping any wild animal as a "pet" is inhumane and dangerous. There have been scores of incidents in which captive chimpanzees inflicted grave injuries on people. This tragedy illustrates the need for Connecticut to add primates to its ban on potentially dangerous animals—which already includes big cats, bears, and wolves—and we have asked Governor Rell to do that.

Academy Award–winning actor Anjelica Huston has spoken up in a moving public service announcement in behalf of great apes used for entertainment. Check it out below:

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Thanks to companies like CareerBuilder and, more recently, Castrol Oil, whose ads show baby chimpanzees dressed up in clothes and "monkeying around" in offices and service stations, many people seem to think of chimpanzees as comical sub-human clowns. They aren't. They are wild animals who are torn away from their mothers at an obscenely young age and beaten into submission. By the time they are 8, they are big enough and strong enough to fight back, which earns them a one-way ticket to a cage in someone's basement or a concrete pit at a roadside zoo.

Neither Travis nor any other great ape belongs in show business. Who ends up happy in this story? Were those 30-second commercials really worth a lifetime of confinement in an unsuitable environment that eventually led to a woman's grave injury and Travis's death? Click here to take action on this issue.

Please, complain loudly any time you see a primate used in a movie, TV show, or advertisement. To learn more about this issue, you can catch PETA's Lisa Lange talking about Travis on Bill O'Reilly's show tonight at 8 p.m. on Fox News.

Posted by Alisa Mullins