The death of a horse on the set of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power led animal rights group PETA to call on all television and film productions to stop “exploiting animals for their art”.
The death occurred on March 21 as the production team was preparing to shoot a scene for Season 2 of the series. Lord of the Rings TV show.
A spokesperson for Amazon Studios said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse has died. “The incident happened in the morning when the horse was being exercised before rehearsal.”
The spokesman added that an “independent autopsy” had found that the horse died of heart failure.
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The statement added: “The trainer is not wearing a costume and filming has yet to begin. “Both a veterinarian and a representative of the Humane Society of the United States were present at the time.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the horse was standing with about 20 other horses when his heart stopped. It has no previously known health conditions.
The horse was provided by The Devil’s Horsemen, a company that supplies trained animals for TV and movies. The famous company that supplies horses for Game of Thrones and this is apparently the first on-set animal death the company has recorded in its 50-year history.
PETA condemns manufacturers Rings of Power for using real horses on set, putting them at risk, instead of replacing them with computer graphics (CG).
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“It seems that living underground with Orcs is obvious to the makers Rings of Power because they have the option to use CGI, mechanical equipment and other humane methods to not leave the horses vulnerable to death on set,” said PETA senior vice president of communications, Lisa Lange said.
“PETA is calling out the creators of the show — and all other manufacturers – to perform a new mission without using any real horses. If they can’t avoid exploiting animals for their art, then they should find a new medium, because no one wants to see a TV spin-off with a theme of torment.”
This is not the first time a project in Lord of the Rings The franchise has come under fire from PETA and animal rights activists.
In 2012, director Peter Jackson was the subject of an investigation when three horses, as well as other farm animals, were presumed dead on set. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeythe first prequel film of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, which Jackson also directed.
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At the time, PETA responded to the allegations by launching a petition calling on audiences to boycott films that featured animals being harmed, the Guardian reported.
Jackson denied claims that animals were abused on his set, calling the allegations “baseless.”
Rings of Power is a spin-off television show set in the second era of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. The show’s first season is considered the most expensive TV production in history and streamed for over 24 billion minutes, making it the most watched original show on Amazon to date.
Season 2 is expected to land in 2024.
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