People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is again demanding that Hollywood stop using live animals after a horse died on the set of the nearly billion-dollar Amazon series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The animal died on March 21 after suffering a cardiac arrest during rehearsals of the fantasy show’s second season on set in the United Kingdom, according to Variety.
PETA used the death to push its agenda and called for an immediate end to the entertainment industry’s use of live animals.
“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,” PETA said in a statement.
“PETA is calling on the show’s creators — and all other producers — to take on a new quest without using any real horses. If they can’t avoid exploiting animals for their art, they should find a new medium, because no one wants to see a spinoff for TV with torment as the theme.”
For its part, Amazon mourned the loss of the animal.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died on 21st March,” Amazon said in a statement. “The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals. The trainer was not in costume and filming had yet to commence. Both a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were present at the time. The independent necropsy has confirmed that the horse died of cardiac failure.”
This is not the first time PETA has blasted the industry over the death of a horse. The radical activist group issued similar demands when a horse died, “likely of natural causes,” on the set of HBO’s The Gilded Age in July of last year.
“We had hoped HBO might have learned something from that experience: namely, that horses aren’t props,” PETA spokesperson Courtney Penley wrote at the time. “They’re sensitive animals who can be startled easily, and they must be gradually accustomed to the changing conditions on a set.”
PETA has attacked the industry several times before over its use of horses, too.
In 2016, PETA blasted HBO over an episode in the series Silicon Valley in which a pair of horses was shown having a graphic sexual encounter. The group called the scene “horse porn” and argued that the practice of horse breeding is “arranged rape.”
Season two of The Rings of Power is currently in production with no air date yet set.
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