Wranglers say 'Hobbit' animals died on unsafe farm

Calliegirl

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I was looking forward to this, not anymore. :(

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Animal wranglers involved in the making of "The Hobbit" movie trilogy say the production company is responsible for the deaths of up to 27 animals, largely because they were kept at a farm filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other "death traps."
The American Humane Association, which is overseeing animal welfare on the films, says no animals were harmed during the actual filming. But it also says the wranglers' complaints highlight shortcomings in its oversight system, which monitors film sets but not the facilities where the animals are housed and trained...

http://news.yahoo.com/wranglers-hobbit-animals-died-unsafe-farm-084335908.html
 
- Rainbow the miniature, euthanized after suffering a broken back
- Claire the horse, who was found with her "head submerged in a stream after it fell over a bluff."
- Zeppelin the horse, whose records say died from natural causes, but: "Smythe said the horse was bloated and its intestines were full of a yellow liquid; he believes it died of digestive problems caused by new feed."
- Six goats and six sheep who perished "after falling into sinkholes, contracting worms or getting new feed after the grass was eaten."
- Twelve chickens who were mauled to death by dogs.
- Doofus the horse and Molly the horse, who actually survived after cutting themselves on fencing.

Jackson's camp, meanwhile, is downplaying the death toll. "We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn’t happen again," said Jackson's rep. PETA is planning protests at the Hobbit premieres in New Zealand later this month and in the U.S. and the U.K. prior to the December release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/wrangl...red-gruesome-deaths-death-trap-174047061.html
 
That's just horrible!
furious.gif


There's no real reason to use livestock for those background shots anyway, I mean are you kidding me? The new Planet of the Apes did a pretty good job of demonstrating that we don't need live animals in movies at all, and in this case the animals aren't even the stars so I see no reason why they had to be dragged into this.

And seriously, the budget for this movie is like a gazillion dollars! There's no way they couldn't afford to either use CGI animals or at least properly take care of the ones they had, there's no excuse for this it's just negligence.
 
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Those stories are horrible. What awful ways to suffer and die. So much unnecessary pain. :(
 
dammit. I just love LOTR. I've been looking forward to another.
My kids loved the animated Hobbit from the 80's.
 
I was going to go and see this film when it came out ...after reading this am not going to ...unsure if my husband who is a meat eater will see it or not
 
Denial here:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) is threatening to protest at the New Zealand, US and UK premieres of the forthcoming debut instalment in the triptych, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and has written to Jackson stating its concerns.In response, the New Zealand film-maker issued a terse statement denying that animals had died due to mistreatment. "The producers of The Hobbit take the welfare of all animals very seriously and have always pursued the highest standard of care for animals in their charge," he wrote. "Any incidents that occurred that were brought to their attention as regards to this care were immediately investigated and appropriate action taken. This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars that were spent on upgrading housing and stable facilities in early 2011."The producers completely reject the accusations that 27 animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films. Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved."Over 55% of all shots using animals in The Hobbit are in fact computer generated; this includes horses, ponies, rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, deer, elk, mice, wild boars and wolves. The American Humane Association (AHA) was on hand to monitor all use of animals by the production. No animals died or were harmed on set during filming."We regret that some of these accusations by wranglers who were dismissed from the film over a year ago are only now being brought to our attention. We are currently investigating these new allegations and are attempting to speak with all parties involved to establish the truth."AHA has said the handlers' complaints highlight shortcomings in its oversight system, which monitors film sets but not the facilities where the animals are housed and trained. A spokesman for Jackson earlier admitted that the deaths of two horses on a farm owned by studio Warner Bros were avoidable, and said the production company moved quickly to improve conditions after they died. However, other animals are said to have died from natural causes" snip....continues here. http://m.guardiannews.com/film/2012/nov/20/the-hobbit-animals-not-mistreated-peter-jackson
 
They are right, the animals didn't die during filming or on the set. They died due to unsafe conditions where they were being housed. So far, neither Peter Jackson nor the studio has denied this. If you notice in their statement, they are careful to only talk about the animals while they were on the set.
 
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Seems to me they don't want to admit to any wrong doing on there part and want to brush it under the carpet , all they are worried about is not getting enough money for there film