Horse dies on set of ‘Lord of the Rings’ TV show, sparking activist outrage – National | 24CA News
The demise of a horse on the set of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has prompted animal rights group PETA to name for all TV and film productions to cease “exploiting animals for their art.”
The demise occurred on March 21 because the manufacturing group was on the brink of shoot a scene for Season 2 of the Lord of the Rings TV present.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died,” an Amazon Studios spokesperson stated. “The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals.”
The spokesperson added that an “independent necropsy” discovered that the horse died of cardiac failure.
“The trainer was not in costume and filming had yet to commence,” the assertion added. “Both a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were present at the time.”
The horse was standing with about 20 different horses when it went into cardiac arrest, in response to The Hollywood Reporter. It had no recognized prior well being situations.
The horse was supplied by The Devil’s Horsemen, a trained-animal clothes shop for TV and movie. The firm famously provided horses for Game of Thrones and that is apparently the primary on-set animal fatality the corporate has recorded in its 50-year historical past.
PETA condemned the producers of The Rings of Power for utilizing actual horses on its set, exposing them to hazard, as an alternative of changing them with laptop graphics (CG).
“It seems that living underground with the orcs is par for the course for the producers of The Rings of Power because they have the option to use CGI, mechanical rigs and other humane methods that wouldn’t run vulnerable horses to death on set,” stated PETA senior vice chairman of communications, Lisa Lange.
“PETA is calling on the show’s creators — and all other producers — to take on a new quest without using any real horses. If they can’t avoid exploiting animals for their art, they should find a new medium, because no one wants to see a spinoff for TV with torment as the theme.”
This just isn’t the primary time a venture within the Lord of the Rings franchise has come beneath fireplace from PETA and animal rights activists.
In 2012, director Peter Jackson was the topic of scrutiny when three horses, in addition to different livestock, allegedly died on the set of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the primary prequel film to the unique Lord of the Rings trilogy, which Jackson additionally directed.
At the time, PETA responded to the allegations by launching a petition to induce moviegoers to boycott movies the place animals had been harmed, the Guardian reported.
Jackson denied claims that animals had been mistreated on his set, calling the allegations “unsubstantiated.”
The Rings of Power is a derivative TV present set in Middle-earth’s second age, 1000’s of years earlier than the occasions in The Lord of the Rings. The present’s first season was billed because the costliest TV manufacturing in historical past and was streamed for greater than 24 billion minutes, making it Amazon’s most-watched unique present so far.
Season 2 is predicted to land in 2024.
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