Should Animals Be On Film Sets

 Now this topic is something that is very controversial amongst almost anyone and that is should animals be on film sets? To me, the answer is still not very clear cut as we do like to see animals on the screen and it does tend to add a little something when you see animals but you can't always tell if the animals are being looked after properly and if the right training is being put into place to keep these animals safe.

Personally, I would say that animals shouldn't be on sets UNLESS it can be guaranteed that a risk assessment has been carried out even down to the smallest of components on set AND to make sure every basic need of the animal is met but is overly compensated. That being said this is only for domestic pets such as dogs, cats, horses, and those along a similar vein. I believe that no wild animals should ever be used in the industry as they suffer the cruelest treatment. 

In nature, most animals do everything that they can to avoid humans, but those used by Hollywood trainers are forced into close proximity with their captors and are also deprived of their families, their freedom, and everything else that’s natural and important to them so what would be better for these types of animals is to use CGI and AI to create these animals and use humans in green screen suits to map out the basic area that they would require these animals. CGI and AI have come on leaps and bounds in recent years and a lot of films currently out have turned to these techniques altogether to create the animals that they need for the scenes they are creating so it is not bad to assume that as we progress in technology that we couldn't stop using animals on sets altogether.

Working with animals comes with so many risks to not just animals but to the humans working around them too. At the end of the day no matter how well-trained an animal is it is still an animal at the end of the day so it can not be predicted from moment to moment what they are going to do. Horses can cause injury to both themselves and those around them if they buck, Dogs could still turn around and bite as could a cat so should we be forcing animals to be 'actors' and essentially end up risking our health and the health and wellbeing of animals just for the sake of entertainment.

In an article published by Little White Lies  titled 'What does No Animals Were Harmed mean for filming in 2022' They wrote  'The Reporter alleged that numerous high-profile films, including Life of Pi (a tiger almost drowned during filming), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (27 animals, including sheep and goats, reportedly died of dehydration, exhaustion or drowning), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (fish and other marine animals were killed by in-water explosion effects), and 2011’s Zookeeper (an elderly giraffe passed away), were granted permission to say that “No Animals Were Harmed” during production, despite evidence and anecdote appearing to point to the contrary.' This just goes to show that even those who are supposed to protect these animals during filming downplay the treatment that the animals actually receive.

So can we truly trust the 'No Animals Were Harmed' badge? Unfortunately, that is a big no as nobody who works for these so-called companies that check for abuse is actually doing what they should be to protect these animals as they see it for the fact that Hollywood wants to use animals for their pictures and they have more power over everything so places write what Hollywood wants them to for fear of being ruined.

10 Popular films that have had reports of rampant animal abuse on set can be found here and some of them may surprise you but it is important to know what truly goes on behind the scenes to these animals so that you know for future reference what truly happens to these animals and how they suffer at the hands of some humans.

If you want to read what PeTA has written in their statement about this issue then you can click here to read more on what you can do to possibly help.

So to summarise film sets are so known to abuse animals that no animal can ever really be safe when they step foot on sets. We have had green screen and blue screen technology for years and with the rise of CGI and AI I feel like it would be safer for every human and animal to use this technology to our advantage and only have animals on set that are pets of the actors who do not have to leave trailers or get in front of the camera just to keep all people and animals safe and out of harm.

Lucy, Animal Advocate (UK)