PETA accused the film's producers of using animals that had previously been abused. Two chimpanzees who appear in the film, Cody and Sable, were surrendered by their owner to settle a lawsuit that documented allegations of beatings and mistreatment. The film's director, Tom Shadyac, said of PETA's criticisms "many of these animals have been rescued from other situations and can't be returned to the wild" and "There's a certain amount of hypocrisy whenever you work with animals, even to show, which we hope we're showing, that respect of all of God's creation ... I don't know. I respect their criticism." PETA was also critical of Birds & Animals Unlimited, the primary animal supplier to the film, for alleged serious and continuing violations of the U.S. Animal Welfare Act, including failure to comply with veterinary care requirements and failure to provide shelter from heat and sunlight, which PETA details and claims it can document. A Universal Studios spokesperson declared: