Peter Jackson's defense of 'Hobbit' animal practices gets a response from PETA
Animal rights org calls on the director to use 100% CG animals
Martin Freeman goes for a ride in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit."
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PETA is having none of director Peter Jackson's recent defense against animal abuse allegations on the set of his "Hobbit" trilogy.
Following damaging reports of mistreatment by several whistleblowers involved with the production - mainly concerning unsafe housing conditions that led to several animals being maimed or killed - Jackson took to his official Facebook page yesterday to strike back at the claims brought forth by the media-savvy animal rights organization, asserting: "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."
Jackson's defense also included a statement from "Hobbit" actor Jed Brophy (a.k.a. Nori), who said in part: "The entire time we were on set, and when we were training with the animal wranglers employed to look after and train the animals for filming, I observed no mistreatment - in fact the opposite is true."
In response, PETA has posted a response on their official website, which states that "all claims of animal injury and death are directly related to how the animals were housed and fed. Jackson attempts to deflect these serious charges by talking about the use of animals during action sequences—even though these damning incidents did not take place when cameras were rolling."
The message goes on to again list a few of the previously-reported offenses (including the "hobbling" of one horse that was allegedly deemed too excitable), before making a plea to Jackson that he use only computer-generated animals going forward.
"It seems to PETA that instead of vainly defending himself, Jackson should be giving a firm assurance that this will never happen again. He is the CGI master and has the ability to make the animals and other interesting creatures in his movies 100 percent CGI, and PETA calls on him again to do so."
The claims, which were first reported by the Associated Press on Monday, have come at a vulnerable time for Jackson and co., as "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is slated for release on December 14.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupdakotah phillips
November 21, 2012 at 10:16PM EST Reply to Commentwell they weren't mistreating the animals as long as they took care of them properly and gave them appropriate shelter and feed for the occasion. hobbling shouldn't be counted for mistreatment. im a horse owner and i hobble my horse since she gets easily spooked so she wont take off and get hurt or get into anything that might make her sick or hurt. if a horse is excitable and they have to hobble them it is for the safety of the horse, the other animals and the people around them. i mean if i got scared and got lose and managed to hurt itself or another animal it would be a large problem. but they do that for the safety of the horse and everything around it if it gets excited easily to avoid getting injured or inuring others.
Guest When they say hobbling what they mean is that the horses back leg was tied up to it's neck using a hobble-like strap. One or both of its front legs was probably tied up to its neck as well. The horse is then dropped to the ground and left to think about its situation for a while. As this position is the ultimate place a horse would not want to be in it places its life in the hands of the person performing it and thus increases trust (believe it or not) when the horse is released. It is sometimes needed when a horse becomes too out of control and poses a risk to itself and/or others around it. But it is never kept in place for 3 hours and an energetic horse would be ridden by a qualified trainer for a good length of time to settle it down. Also a horse that was too energetic for its actor rider is not one that is generally used on movie sets. However I understand that the original trainers left this movie after the first two months of pre-production and no trainers were brought in to replace them. A lack of qualified horse experts probably resulted in poor quality horses and inappropriate techniques being used.
November 24, 2012 at 12:14AM ESTKelly
November 21, 2012 at 11:53PM EST Reply to CommentFreakng PETA
Stormshadow4life
November 22, 2012 at 12:48AM EST Reply to CommentI love animals...LOVE animals! And as much as I love them, I hate PETA. They are nothing but opportunistic bullies. Some of the news reports and/or documentaries on them have been rather eye opening
rob
November 22, 2012 at 2:34AM EST Reply to CommentThe only reason these leeches that call themselves peta are making a fuss is to cash in on the hobbits publicity. They are absolute scum and should be culled.
Linda This is the same PETA that slaughters well over 95 percent of the animals surrendered to its "shelters". The same PETA that makes regular statements that pets are better off dead than living as beloved family members. I wish the media would catch the clue bus and do a major exposé on those lying freaks.
November 22, 2012 at 4:40PM ESThexxuss
November 23, 2012 at 8:26AM EST Reply to CommentPETA is nothing but a load of hypocrites. They'd rather animals be put down than you be allowed to adopt them from shelters. THEIR incorrect handling has been documented as well. If this article is true, basically it's been said that something was done wrong by the handlers. The handlers in question were fired when it was discovered. Those handlers then decided to go to PETA. How about you stop growth hormones in animals PETA - that'd be a real story!
Guest
November 23, 2012 at 10:57AM EST Reply to CommentThe person who is most at fault in this 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 that would have cost the same amount.
He 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 letting his girlfriend train 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.
bitchstolemyremote Interesting, but do you have proof of this? Where is all this coming from?
November 23, 2012 at 12:18PM ESTGuest The letter written by PETA (an organisation I do not approve of I must point out) states some of this. The information was obtained from interviews given to the press by the trainer and wranglers in question.
November 24, 2012 at 12:01AM ESTProof of this has been given to Peter Jackson and I imagine Steve Old will not be getting a job in the film industry again anytime soon. The film industry as a whole is now aware of the dangers of mismanagement and not ensuring adequate measures are put in place to protect animals and those that are hired to care for them. Thus accomplishing the point of the wranglers and trainers in going to the press in the first place.
KiplingKat This person has been spreading these rumors all over the net with zero proof. I suspect they are the ones that will not be working in NZ entertainment industry anytime soon.
November 28, 2012 at 12:15AM ESTsue
November 25, 2012 at 12:32PM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...I also have horses, and other farm animals! The safety and care should
have been pre-planned prior to production! A "hobbled" horse wasn't the only death here! My family will not be spending our money on this movie!
People eat tasty animals
November 27, 2012 at 3:34PM ESTDog lover Do you really think that ANY modern day director would EVER hobble a horse in a movie?? If so you are more naive than anyone I know. No one does this anymore. They have inspectors on site at all times monitoring. Don't be a PETA stooge. Use the grey matter between your ears.
December 19, 2012 at 1:32AM ESTKiplingkat
November 28, 2012 at 12:18AM EST Reply to CommentWhat's fishy is that PETA's story keeps changing.
September 10:
http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/pdf/letter-to-AHA.pdf
"One miniature horse was housed with larger, high-strung horses who trampled him. A second horse was placed in a partially fenced area that bordered a cliff with a sharp drop to a river below; the horse was found dead at the bottom of the cliff. The third horse died from unexplained causes, possibly related to feed."
November 19th:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/peta-to-picket-the-hobbit-premiere-after-whistleblower-reveals-preventable-deaths-and-needless-suffering-of-animals-on-set-8329326.html
"Two horses died after breaking their necks on the set after they were run off embankments, while another was left for over three hours with its legs tied together. Goats and sheep died from worm infestations and falling into sinkholes while unprotected chickens were killed by dogs."
Then they started adding horses and other animals to the count:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/board/thread/207335543?d=207342309 #207342309
But guess what? There are accusations that the wrangler who came initially forward was himself dismissed for animal abuse.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Animal-handler-didnt-aim-to-tarnish-The-Hobbit/tabid/1748/articleID/277646/Default.aspx
A wrangler who started this all, who, despite his *great* concern, [b]never called an animal protection agency himself and then waited over a year to go to the press.[/b]
According to an official animal protection organization, horse owners, a vetinarian, and eyewitness who were actually present:
http://www.hollywood.com/news/The_Hobbit_Animal_Deaths/44586490
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/11/20/65507-a-statement-from-peter-jackson-and-the-producers-of-the-hobbit-about-animal-mistreatment-allegations/
https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-hobbit-middle-earthnew-zealand/backlash-over-hobbit-claim-over-alleged-death-of-animals/466921346683582
This is a shamless media grab by PETA, a hypocritical organization who put thousands of dogs and cats to death in their supposedly "no kill shelters." If they actually cared about stopping the abuse, they would be picketing the farm repsonsible. Instead they are going after a group of people who have acted in open good faith through this entire thing because they are a higher profile target. PETA is just trying to ride the coattails of the The Hobbit media frenzy on the word of diguntled former employees.
Dog lover
December 19, 2012 at 1:28AM EST Reply to CommentPETA is a cruel joke perpetrated by media shires who really give a rats butt about animals. If they really cared they wouldn't have a 98% death rate of animals they are entrusted to shelter. They were caught red handed (no pun intended) with the dead dogs and puppies and STILL people support them! Sick disgusting lunatics!
Dog lover Media WHORES not shires! Lol!
December 19, 2012 at 1:38AM ESTKayla May
February 5, 2013 at 3:38PM EST Reply to CommentLets not forget this is the same organisation that euthanises healthy animals claiming they do not have the funds to keep them, yet their ad campaigns cost thousands. And PETA's idea of animal cruelty includes owning a pet and supporting breeding programes for endagered species.