'Hobbit' director Peter Jackson denies animal abuse allegations
Actor Jed Brophy and others also respond to charges
'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'
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"The Hobbit" director Peter Jackson has taken to Facebook to publicly refute the animal abuse charges made against the film earlier this week.
Several former animal wranglers who worked on the film claimed that negligence and improper care on the film's New Zealand set culminated in the deaths of 27 animals.
Jackson, actor Jed Brophy, Joy Gray and veterinarian Dr. Julia Bryce released responses on Jackson's Facebook page today.
"To date, the only horse wranglers whose treatment of animals fell below the production's standard of care seem to be the two wranglers who have chosen to level this new accusation on the eve of the premiere of the first 'Hobbit' film and who were dismissed by the production over a year ago," the statement reads. "Reports of their actions are documented in several written statements dating back to October 2011."
Actor Jed Brophy (Nori in the film) likewise dismisses the accusations of abuse, saying "I would not have allowed myself to be a part of any production that knowingly employed unsafe practice in the workplace in this way." Brohy continues, "I can say with absolute certainty the production went out of their way to treat animals with the upmost respect and care."
Gray, whose farm was used to train animals for the film, adds "In fact, the animals were wonderfully looked after, being well-fed, well-housed, and well-treated. As both farmers and dedicated horse people ourselves we would have stood for nothing less."
Brophy also chastises the accusers, by saying, "I feel that there is a certain amount of personal vindictiveness levelled at the production from individuals with their own agenda. As is often the case in these situations, organisations will leap at the chance to gain publicity for their cause without seeking the truth."
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" opens December 14.
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November 24, 2012 at 6:42AM EST Reply to CommentThe person who is most at fault is not Peter Jackson. It is the Animal Coordinator Steve Old.
He was responsible for leasing that farm which was a hilly sheep farm unsuitable for horses. Several other suitable properties were put forward by the horse trainer.
Old was also responsible for hiring staff that were not qualified to look after horses and vetoed every attempt of the horse trainer to hire suitable staff. He also prevented the horse trainer from making sensible training decisions. He insisted on his girlfriend training horses even though she was not qualified to even be riding them and caused many problems with their training when she did ride them. He also insisted on other unqualified people being allowed to ride horses.
Steve Old also did not put any safe and appropriate training facilities in place. This was because he wanted to ensure he got the job by coming in under the budget outlined by another more qualified Animal Coordinator. He prevented the horse trainer from putting any facilities in place other than those that the horse trainer paid for out of his own pocket.
Steve Old turned a blind eye to wilful abuse of animals - one case in which his own father was the abuser of a pig. This same person - Les Old - also sexually harassed a female staff member. When she told Steve that Les had groped her Steve fired her.
Steve used production money and resources on his own private projects such as The Great NZ Trek. He pulled staff members away from caring for the animals on the film and sent them to do work on projects elsewhere during which time they were paid with film money.
He bullied staff members into keeping quiet about any negative aspects of their work and told them they would be fired if they didn't fall into line.
The head horse trainer, another horse trainer and other wranglers resigned from the film after two months because their complaints about animal welfare were ignored and were not passed on to people higher up in the chain of command. Emails were sent after they resigned (in Feb2011) detailing everything that was dangerous and needed to be rectified. I understand that these emails have only recently been passed on to Peter Jackson.