Films and TV shows that have used animal cruelty which has resulted in the death or harm of the animals which have been used!
Apocalypse now- Apocalypse now is an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of darkness. It is a grim vision of the Vietnam War, in which you see Special Forces sent into the jungle to eliminate a rogue agent named Kurtz. After a brutal journey they murder Kurtz with a machete. This attack is scattered among footage of water buffalo being ceremonially slaughtered.
These animals were reported to of then been killed by the local ifugao tribe. It was filmed in the Philippines and was not monitored by the American Humane Association and not surprisingly, it earned an ‘unacceptable’
The Grey- 2011’s the grey is a psychological thriller, which is about a leading group of oil drillers as they flee form killer wolves. Organisations such as PETA were angered by the portrayal of wolves- which have only just began to rebound off the endangered list in the US- where it was discovered that the production had brought in 4 wolf carcasses from a trapper. Two of these corpses were used as props in the film, with the other two actually being cooked and eaten by members of the cast.
The adventures of Milo and Otis- This is a children’s film in Japan which features a kitten and a pug puppy. It was released in 1986 becoming that year’s biggest hit in the country. An Australian animal rights organisation, which had received horrifying reports from the set, urged a boycott on the film. They claimed that dozens of kittens were killed during the shoot and that the producer actually broke a kitten’s paw to make appear as clumsy.
The charge of the light brigade- This is a film from 1963. It details a real-life disastrous cavalry charge during the Crimean war. To make it look as if the horses were toppling after being shot after they rigged the battlefield with wire traps. At least a dozen horses were killed outright or had to be euthanized shortly afterwards, due to their legs being hopelessly splintered. A stuntman also dies during this film; the congress intervened and several laws were put in place, with an explicit ban on wire traps.
Life of Pi- The life of Pi an adventure drama film which revolves around an Indian boy named Pi; he is stranded aboard on a lifeboat adrift in the Pacific Ocean. He is trapped on the boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, who belonged to Pi’s family zoo. Most of the films effects were created using CGI, including many of the scenes with Richard Parker, but some were shot with a real tiger named King. While shooting a scene which involved King swimming in a water tank something went horribly wrong, and the tiger nearly died before his handler was able to pull him to safety. The water tank scene was shot in Taiwan, and was watched over by an American Humane Association representative named Gina Johnson. Despite the Tiger nearly dying Johnson reported that all went well at the set of Life of Pi. A leaked email that she had sent to colleague had this to say about the incident: “This one take with him just went really bad and he got lost trying to swim to the side. Damn near drowned. I think this goes without saying but DON’T MENTION THIS TO ANYONE, ESPECIALLY THE OFFICE! Have downplayed the fuck out of it.” Worse still, Johnson was revealed to have romantic ties with the production executive for the movie. When this became public in November 2013, Johnson resigned from her job with the AHA.
Snow Buddies- Snow buddies is a movie about a band of Golden Retrievers who are stranded in Alaska and becoming sled dogs. As puppies tend to grow incredibly fast, the production studio of Disney acquired any to fill the necessary roles. Unfortunately it appears that several puppies were brought on to the set before growing old enough to be separated from their mothers- at approximately 6 weeks of age instead of the compulsory 8 weeks of age. Many of the involved dogs became sick, over a dozen requiring veterinary treatment. Five puppies eventually dying.
Manderlay- Manderlay is the grim tale of slavery in the 20th century in America. As the film takes place on plantation it naturally features animals One scene was suppose to feature a Donkey being butchered. When attempts to use a fake donkey went wrong, the director Lars Von Trier obtained a Donkey that was already scheduled to be slaughtered was given a lethal injection so that its corpse could be used in the movie.
In response to this, actor John C. Reilly quit his role in the film. Von Trier then eventually. Cut the Donkey scene from the movie; concerned that the scandal would destroy his project, but then went on to claim the animals fate would have been far worse if he hadn’t of purchased it.
Speed racer- this is one of the few films that the AHA refused to endorse calling it “unacceptable”. This rating had stemmed from an incident where one of the chimpanzees playing the character of “Chim-Chim” bit an actor without provocation and was allegedly beaten in response.
Later on in this production, a Chimp was struck out of frustration by a trainer while rehearsing. This had occurred in front of an AHA monitor and was labelled as a clear violation of AHA guidelines, which forbids physically punishing animals in favour of positive reinforcement methods. The monitor then stopped the training session and immediately reported the incident to producers. Fortunately the Chimp was uninjured.
Ben-Hur- this 1925’s film is a tale of the enslaved Jewish prince and his quest for revenge during roman times. Despite the film featuring Jesus Christ, the film set the standard for animal cruelty in a film. Over 100 Horses apparently gave their lives to complete the chariot race scene, which dragged on for many weeks under the hot sun of California. Injured animals were reportedly shown little mercy. According to Francis X Bushman, an actor in Ben-Hur “if it limped, they shot it”
Heaven’s Gate- A drama centred on the conflict between land barons and immigrants in the old west.
The AHA was actually barred from the set of this film, and for good reason as the cruelty directed at the animals was unimaginable. Rumours from the set indicated that the cows were cut to provide not so “fake” blood for the actors. During one battle scene, four Horses were apparently killed, including one which was blown up with dynamite. They staged real cockfights, and gutted cattle to use their entrails as props. A lawsuit by one of the owners of a horse abused on the set settled for an undisclosed amount out of court.
Many films still use animal cruelty in movies; even films in the 21st century, even with CGI. Animal cruelty is not needed in the film industry and should be banned and anyone who uses this cruelty should be behind bars!
