Peter vs PETA

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson is currently at loggerheads with animal rights activist group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) over alleged animal cruelty during the filming of the Tolkien stories’ film franchise.

Jackson has vehemently denied claims made by animal handlers within his production team that up to twenty-seven animals used in the films died as a direct result of neglect. The handlers, who worked on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, claim that the deaths of various horses, goats, chicken and sheep were due to the living conditions at the nearby farm where they were kept, which was allegedly full of ‘bluffs, sinkholes and other deathtraps’ – although they admit that no animals were harmed on the set itself.

PETA has now taken up the cry, and is now threatening to protest at the upcoming New Zealand, UK and US premieres of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – having previously written to Jackson to voice their concerns.

Jackson responded with an open statement. “The producers of The Hobbit take the welfare of all animals very seriously and have always pursued the highest standard of care for animals in their charge,” he stated. “Any incidents that occurred that were brought to their attention as regards to this care were immediately investigated and appropriate action taken. This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars that were spent on upgrading housing and stable facilities in early 2011.

“The producers completely reject the accusations that twenty-seven animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films. Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved.

“Over 55% of all shots using animals in The Hobbit are in fact computer generated; this includes horses, ponies, rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, deer, elk, mice, wild boars and wolves. The American Humane Association (AHA) was on hand to monitor all use of animals by the production. No animals died or were harmed on set during filming.

“We regret that some of these accusations by wranglers who were dismissed from the film over a year ago are only now being brought to our attention. We are currently investigating these new allegations and are attempting to speak with all parties involved to establish the truth.”

Kathy Guillermo, the senior vice president of laboratory investigations at PETA, said informers on the set of The Hobbit had been in contact with the PETA following the organisation’s previous active roles exposing animal care issues on other film sets. “We want to send a clear message to Hollywood that they need to be very careful when using animals and take all the precautions that need to be taken,” she is quoted as saying.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is the much-anticipated first installment of the Hobbit trilogy, is scheduled to debut on the 28th November 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand, and will open at cinemas in the UK on the 13th December.