TORONTO — A shocking new report claims hundreds of animals have been killed or injured while working on motion pictures like The Hobbit and Pirates of the Caribbean.
According to The Hollywood Reporter investigation, a tiger used in Life of Pi nearly drowned during filming in Taiwan.
“This one take with him just went really bad and he got lost trying to swim to the side,” reads an internal email from Gina Johnson, a monitor for the American Human Association (AHA). “Damn near drowned.”
As many as 27 animals allegedly died during production of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in New Zealand. THR claims sheep and goats died from dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled gullies.
Many movies and TV shows include a disclaimer in the closing credits assuring audiences that the AHA supervised animal action and “no animals were harmed.”
But, THR alleges animals hurt or killed when cameras are not rolling are not considered.
A report from an AHA monitor on the Greenland set of Disney 2006 movie Eight Below shows a Husky dog was punched repeatedly in its diaphragm by a trainer and another suffered a puncture wound to its head after a scene in which the dogs fought.
While making Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, dozens of fish and squid were killed when explosions were set off in the water.
A chipmunk was killed during filming of the 2006 romantic comedy Failure to Launch when its handler dropped it and stepped on it.
THR lists several other incidents, including a giraffe that died during filming of 2011’s Zookeeper and more than a dozen horses injured while making the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
It cites an AHA report that said 82 horses were hurt on films between 2001 to 2006, including several on the set of There Will Be Blood.
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