A detailed investigation by The Hollywood Reporter reveals the hypocrisy of the Humane Society whose disclaimer on almost every Hollywood film - "No animals were harmed in the production of this film" - is shown to be empty of meaning.
Regarding the near drowning of a tiger during the filming of The Life of Pi, an American Humane Society representative wrote:
"I think this goes without saying but DON'T MENTION IT TO ANYONE, ESPECIALLY THE OFFICE!" Johnson continued in the email, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "I have downplayed the f-- out of it."
A year later, during the filming of another blockbuster, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 27 animals reportedly perished, including sheep and goats that died from dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled gullies, during a hiatus in filming at an unmonitored New Zealand farm where they were being housed and trained.
A year later, during the filming of another blockbuster, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 27 animals reportedly perished, including sheep and goats that died from dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled gullies, during a hiatus in filming at an unmonitored New Zealand farm where they were being housed and trained.
A trainer, John Smythe, tells THR that AHA's management, which assigned a representative to the production, resisted investigating when he brought the issue to its attention in August 2012.
In the bad old days, horses were routinely sacrificed as stunt riders would deliberately force the animal to fall during battles. Broken legs were common. Sometimes, they would use ropes strung along the ground to deliberately trip horses causing more serious injuries.
That was supposed to have been stopped by the AHA. But was it?
A Husky dog was punched repeatedly in its diaphragm on Disney's 2006 Antarctic sledding movie Eight Below, starring Paul Walker, and a chipmunk was fatally squashed in Paramount's 2006 Matthew McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy Failure to Launch.
In 2003, the AHA chose not to publicly speak of the dozens of dead fish and squid that washed up on shore over four days during the filming of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Crewmembers had taken no precautions to protect marine life when they set off special-effects explosions in the ocean, according to the AHA rep on set.
And the list goes on: An elderly giraffe died on Sony's 2011 Zookeeper set and dogs suffering from bloat and cancer died during the production of New Regency's Marmaduke and The Weinstein Co.'s Our Idiot Brother, respectively (an AHA spokesman confirms the dogs had bloat and says the cancer "was not work-related").
In March, a 5-foot-long shark died after being placed in a small inflatable pool during a Kmart commercial shoot in Van Nuys.
All of these productions had AHA monitors on set.
The AHA frequently touts a 99.98 percent safety rating — meaning, almost 100 percent of the animals they monitor are not harmed. But the AHA’s internal critics insist the number is farcical, with no real statistical grounding.
They claim the aggregate overall ratio is purposefully inflated by the inclusion of high volumes of impossible-to-count insects —
“Think of days where you’re using, say, 10,000 worms, 10,000 cockroaches, 50,000 ants, 25,000 beetles,” explains one employee — while the number of injuries or deaths is undercounted because the organization doesn’t account for those that occur while an animal is in transit or at a holding facility (as opposed to specifically on set). Adds a colleague: “It’s a total B.S. number made up for PR purposes.”
Read more:
Humane Society under fire for fudging 'No Animals were Harmed...' pledge on films
In the bad old days, horses were routinely sacrificed as stunt riders would deliberately force the animal to fall during battles. Broken legs were common. Sometimes, they would use ropes strung along the ground to deliberately trip horses causing more serious injuries.
That was supposed to have been stopped by the AHA. But was it?
A Husky dog was punched repeatedly in its diaphragm on Disney's 2006 Antarctic sledding movie Eight Below, starring Paul Walker, and a chipmunk was fatally squashed in Paramount's 2006 Matthew McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy Failure to Launch.
In 2003, the AHA chose not to publicly speak of the dozens of dead fish and squid that washed up on shore over four days during the filming of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Crewmembers had taken no precautions to protect marine life when they set off special-effects explosions in the ocean, according to the AHA rep on set.
And the list goes on: An elderly giraffe died on Sony's 2011 Zookeeper set and dogs suffering from bloat and cancer died during the production of New Regency's Marmaduke and The Weinstein Co.'s Our Idiot Brother, respectively (an AHA spokesman confirms the dogs had bloat and says the cancer "was not work-related").
In March, a 5-foot-long shark died after being placed in a small inflatable pool during a Kmart commercial shoot in Van Nuys.
All of these productions had AHA monitors on set.
The AHA frequently touts a 99.98 percent safety rating — meaning, almost 100 percent of the animals they monitor are not harmed. But the AHA’s internal critics insist the number is farcical, with no real statistical grounding.
They claim the aggregate overall ratio is purposefully inflated by the inclusion of high volumes of impossible-to-count insects —
“Think of days where you’re using, say, 10,000 worms, 10,000 cockroaches, 50,000 ants, 25,000 beetles,” explains one employee — while the number of injuries or deaths is undercounted because the organization doesn’t account for those that occur while an animal is in transit or at a holding facility (as opposed to specifically on set). Adds a colleague: “It’s a total B.S. number made up for PR purposes.”
Read more:
Humane Society under fire for fudging 'No Animals were Harmed...' pledge on films
No Animals Were Harmed
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/feature/
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PETA KILLS ANIMALS
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
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