Recent Incident of a Horse Dying On the Set of ‘Lord of the Rings’ TV Show Upsets the Activists
Fans rejoiced when they heard the news that the ‘Lord of the Rings’ is coming back, but the recent information of a horse dying on the set upset the activists.
Amazon Prime has come up with the new television series, ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ but now a horse dying on the set of it is sparking activist outrage. The animal rights organization PETA has spoken out against the news and called for all movie and television productions to stop exploiting animals for entertainment and art.
The production is currently shooting for season two of ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ and the accident happened on 21st March when they were getting ready to shoot a scene for the upcoming season. The horse reportedly died of cardiac arrest and was standing with twenty other horses when it breathed its last moments, however, the horse had no prior known health issues or conditions. On the saddening incident, a spokesperson of Amazon Studios said, “We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died,” “The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals.” the spokesperson continued further by saying after the horse died, one “independent necropsy” found that the reason behind it was the cardiac failure.
According to the reports, the horse was standing with other horses and was exercising before the shoot where the trainer was not in costume and the filming was yet to begin. “Both a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were present at the time” the statement added. A trained-animal outfitter for television and film, The Devil’s Horsemen reportedly provided the horses. The company also supplied horses to the hit HBO series Game Of Thornes and this is the first on-set animal fatality that the company has recorded in 50 years.
The news has undeniably upset PETA which condemned the ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ producers for suing real horses on the film set. This has exposed the animals to danger and could be avoided by using CGI or computer graphics instead of real horses. The senior vice president of communications of PETA, Lisa Lange said in a statement “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”.
This is not the first time since the ‘Lord of the Rings’ franchise and its team has come under fire and gotten into a clash with animal activists and PETA. In 2012, three horses along with other farm animals allegedly died on the set of the franchise’s movie, ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ and the director Peter Jackson became the subject of scrutiny. As a response at that time, PETA launched a petition that urged moviegoers to boycott the films that allegedly harmed animals.
