1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 117

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 217

ldquoLAST WEEK WE ALMOSTFmdashING KILLED KING IN THE

WATER TANKrdquo

A merican Humane Association monitor Gina Johnson confided in an email to a

colleague on April 7 2011 about the star tiger in Ang Leersquos Life of Pi While many

scenes featuring ldquoRichard Parkerrdquo the Bengal tiger who shares a lifeboat with a boy lost at

sea were created using CGI technology King very much a real animal was employed when

the digital version wouldnrsquot suffice ldquoThis one take with him just went really bad and he got lost

trying to swim to the siderdquo Johnson wrote ldquoDamn near drownedrdquo

Kingrsquos trainer eventually snagged him with a catch rope and dragged him to one side of the

tank where he scrambled out to safety

ldquoI think this goes without saying but DONrsquoT MENTION IT TO ANYONE ESPECIALLY THE

OFFICErdquo Johnson continued in the email obtained by The Hollywood Reporter ldquoI have

downplayed the fmdash out of itrdquo

As a representative of the American Humane Association mdash the grantor of the familiar ldquoNo

Animals Were Harmedrdquo trademark accreditation seen at the end of film and TV credits mdash it

was Johnsonrsquos job to monitor the welfare of the animals used in the production filmed in

Taiwan Whatrsquos more Johnson had a secret She was intimately involved with a high-ranking

production exec on Pi (AHArsquos management subsequently became aware of both the

relationship and her email about the tiger incident which others involved with the production

have described in far less dire terms) Still Pi which went on to earn four Oscars and $609

million in global box office was awarded the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo credit

A year later during the filming of another blockbuster Peter

Jacksonrsquos The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey 27 animals

reportedly perished including sheep and goats that died from

dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled

gullies during a hiatus in filming at an unmonitored New Zealand

farm where they were being housed and trained A trainer John

Smythe tells THR that AHArsquos management which assigned a

representative to the production resisted investigating when he

brought the issue to its attention in August 2012 First according

to an email Smythe shared with THR an AHA official told him the

lack of physical evidence would make it difficult to investigate

When he replied that he had buried the animals himself and

knew their location the official then told him that because the

deaths had taken place during the hiatus the AHA had no

jurisdiction The AHA eventually bestowed a carefully worded

credit that noted it ldquomonitored all of the significant animal action

No animals were harmed during such actionrdquo

A THR investigation has found that unbeknownst to the public

these incidents on Hollywoodrsquos most prominent productions are

but two of the troubling cases of animal injury and death that

directly call into question the 136-year-old Washington DC-

based nonprofitrsquos assertion that ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo on

productions it monitors Alarmingly it turns out that audiences

reassured by the organizationrsquos famous disclaimer should not

HBO canceled its series Luck a day after Real

Aw esome Jet sustained head injuries that w ere too

severe to be treated

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 217

ldquoLAST WEEK WE ALMOSTFmdashING KILLED KING IN THE

WATER TANKrdquo

A merican Humane Association monitor Gina Johnson confided in an email to a

colleague on April 7 2011 about the star tiger in Ang Leersquos Life of Pi While many

scenes featuring ldquoRichard Parkerrdquo the Bengal tiger who shares a lifeboat with a boy lost at

sea were created using CGI technology King very much a real animal was employed when

the digital version wouldnrsquot suffice ldquoThis one take with him just went really bad and he got lost

trying to swim to the siderdquo Johnson wrote ldquoDamn near drownedrdquo

Kingrsquos trainer eventually snagged him with a catch rope and dragged him to one side of the

tank where he scrambled out to safety

ldquoI think this goes without saying but DONrsquoT MENTION IT TO ANYONE ESPECIALLY THE

OFFICErdquo Johnson continued in the email obtained by The Hollywood Reporter ldquoI have

downplayed the fmdash out of itrdquo

As a representative of the American Humane Association mdash the grantor of the familiar ldquoNo

Animals Were Harmedrdquo trademark accreditation seen at the end of film and TV credits mdash it

was Johnsonrsquos job to monitor the welfare of the animals used in the production filmed in

Taiwan Whatrsquos more Johnson had a secret She was intimately involved with a high-ranking

production exec on Pi (AHArsquos management subsequently became aware of both the

relationship and her email about the tiger incident which others involved with the production

have described in far less dire terms) Still Pi which went on to earn four Oscars and $609

million in global box office was awarded the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo credit

A year later during the filming of another blockbuster Peter

Jacksonrsquos The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey 27 animals

reportedly perished including sheep and goats that died from

dehydration and exhaustion or from drowning in water-filled

gullies during a hiatus in filming at an unmonitored New Zealand

farm where they were being housed and trained A trainer John

Smythe tells THR that AHArsquos management which assigned a

representative to the production resisted investigating when he

brought the issue to its attention in August 2012 First according

to an email Smythe shared with THR an AHA official told him the

lack of physical evidence would make it difficult to investigate

When he replied that he had buried the animals himself and

knew their location the official then told him that because the

deaths had taken place during the hiatus the AHA had no

jurisdiction The AHA eventually bestowed a carefully worded

credit that noted it ldquomonitored all of the significant animal action

No animals were harmed during such actionrdquo

A THR investigation has found that unbeknownst to the public

these incidents on Hollywoodrsquos most prominent productions are

but two of the troubling cases of animal injury and death that

directly call into question the 136-year-old Washington DC-

based nonprofitrsquos assertion that ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo on

productions it monitors Alarmingly it turns out that audiences

reassured by the organizationrsquos famous disclaimer should not

HBO canceled its series Luck a day after Real

Aw esome Jet sustained head injuries that w ere too

severe to be treated

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 317

necessarily assume it is true In fact the AHA has awarded its

ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo credit to films and TV shows on

which animals were injured during production It justifies this on

the grounds that the animals werenrsquot intentionally harmed or the

incidents occurred while cameras werenrsquot rolling

ldquoItrsquos fascinating and ironic From being the protectors of

animals theyrsquove become complicit to animal crueltyrdquo says Bob

Ferber a veteran LA City Attorneyrsquos office prosecutor who

founded and supervised its Animal Protection Unit until retiring

in March

Ferber is not surprised by the allegation that the AHA is failing

to adequately monitor many productions When he attempted in

2005 to investigate two horse deaths during production of Foxrsquos

Flicka (based on the beloved childrenrsquos novel) he says the

AHArsquos Film amp TV Unit management insisted the deaths on the

sets in the Simi and San Fernando valleys were unpreventable

accidents When he dispatched LA Animal Control officers to

talk to the AHA ldquoThey told animal control to fmdash themselvesrdquo he

says ldquoThis is worse than doing nothing This is like a cop not

just ignoring a crime but helping cover it uprdquo

The end credit AHA ultimately bestowed on Flicka reads

without elaboration ldquoAmerican Humane Association monitored

the animal actionrdquo

The full scope of animal injuries and deaths in entertainment productions cannot be known

But in multiple cases examined by THR the AHA has not lived up to its professed role as

stalwart defenders of animals mdash who unlike their human counterparts didnrsquot themselves sign

up for such work While the four horse deaths on HBOrsquos Luck made headlines last year there

are many extraordinary incidents that never bubble up to make news

A Husky dog was punched repeatedly in its diaphragm on Disneyrsquos 2006 Antarctic sledding

movie Eight Below starring Paul Walker and a chipmunk was fatally squashed in

Paramountrsquos 2006 Matthew McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy Failure to

Launch In 2003 the AHA chose not to publicly speak of the dozens of dead fish and squid that

washed up on shore over four days during the filming of Disneyrsquos Pirates of the Caribbean

The Curse of the Black Pearl Crewmembers had taken no precautions to protect marine life

when they set off special-effects explosions in the ocean according to the AHA rep on set

And the list goes on An elderly giraffe died on Sonyrsquos 2011 Zookeeper set and dogs suffering

from bloat and cancer died during the production of New Regencyrsquos Marmaduke and The

Weinstein Corsquos Our Idiot Brother respectively (an AHA spokesman confirms the dogs had

bloat and says the cancer ldquowas not work-relatedrdquo) In March a 5-foot-long shark died after

being placed in a small inflatable pool during a Kmart commercial shoot in Van Nuys

All of these productions had AHA monitors on set

ldquoThe trainer beat the dogharshly which included fivepunches to its diaphragmrdquo

Notes from an American Humane

Association monitor on Disneyrsquos

Eight Below The film was given the

ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo end

credit Force was necessary to

break up a dog fight the AHA says

today

Top

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 417

These employees allege and available AHA internal evidence

supports their claims that the organization distorts its film

ratings downplays or fails to publicly acknowledge harmful

incidents and sometimes doesnrsquot seriously pursue

investigations The AHA staffers agreed to speak because they

say they have lost hope in the potential for meaningful reform

unless outside pressure is brought to bear (They all have

insisted on maintaining their anonymity for fear of retribution)

ADVERTISEMENT

Although AHA employees tell THR there was reason to suspect

that negligence played some role mdash if the scene had been set up

differently they say Glass and other horses likely would not have

been in a position to be injured in an accident mdash the AHA did not

A horse named Glass wasfatally impaled on a

Once a distinctly outsider entity which had to fight for its right to independently

monitor productions in the first place today the AHA has transformed itself into an

entrenched industry insider The organization undeniably has improved the care

and safety of animals used in Hollywood But interviews with six AHA employees and an

extensive review of internal AHA documents including incident logs emails meeting minutes

audit assessments and more strongly suggest that the organizationrsquos fundamental work mdash

protecting animals through credibly neutral on-set oversight mdash today is inadequate

More recently the organization mdash whose other nationwide animal efforts range from rescue

and shelter services following large-scale disasters to a cage-free certification program for

meat poultry egg and dairy producers mdash has faced conflicts of interest stemming from its

desire to be a part of the industry itrsquos meant to regulate

Exhibit A On Oct 1 2011 the Hallmark Channel premiered Loversquos Everlasting Courage a TV

movie about pioneer-era America that was monitored by the AHA That same evening the AHA

presented its inaugural Hero Dog Awards attended by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg Betty

White and Hayden Panettiere at the Beverly Hilton Hallmark subsequently broadcast the Hero

Dog Awards gala just as itrsquos done each year since It was a natural fit mdash after all the

networkrsquos head Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott sat on the AHArsquos Film amp TV Unit advisory board

(he would join the AHArsquos full national board just after the 2011 Hero Dog Awards event)

The symbiotic relationship between the two organizations is important in light of an incident

that occurred June 9 2010 during the filming of Courage That day a horse named Glass mdash

known for his gentle demeanor one blue eye and a distinctive white blaze of mane set against

a shimmering black coat mdash was fatally injured when a ldquorunawayrdquo wagon really did lose control

and the carriagersquos crossbar broke (think of a pencil snapping) impaling the animalrsquos left

hindquarter ldquoHe then went into shock from extreme blood loss and the vet decided it would be

more humane to euthanize him than allow him to sufferrdquo according to an internal AHA report

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 517

investigate According to an AHA statement given to THR the

driver didnrsquot lose control and an investigation wasnrsquot necessary

ldquoWe were present witnessed the entire day of shooting and had

the veterinary report hellip It was a miscalculation not an act of

negligencerdquo (The film did not receive an AHA end credit but that

is not unusual for a television production)

Abbott in an interview with THR adds ldquoWe looked at it and

found that we had a clear conscience hellip We donrsquot think an

outside investigation would have revealed anything differentlyrdquo

As to whether his close relationship with the AHA creates a

conflict of interest he says ldquoI can understand how that would

raise an eyebrow But itrsquos almost like when a coach has a son on

the team and that coach is more difficult on that son than other

peoplerdquo

Hallmark Channel moviemonitored by the American

Humane AssociationNegligence may have been a

factor yet no probe waslaunched

At the time network CEO Bill Abbott

sat on the AHArsquos advisory board He

says ldquoWe donrsquot think an outside

investigation would have revealed

anything differentlyrdquo

Top

Charges of improper coziness between the AHA and the entertainment business

have been raised before The arrangement by which the Film amp TV Unitrsquos budget

has been mostly financed mdash through what is currently a $24 thinspmillion grant

administered by two trade groups the recently merged SAG-AFTRA actorsrsquo union and the

Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers via its shared Industry Advancement and

Cooperative Fund mdash long has been criticized for the inherent conflict of interest present in

Hollywood bankrolling its regulator (The IACF is endowed as part of the producersrsquo obligation

to the actorsrsquo union)

ldquoWas it a close call What isindisputable was that no

harm came to King Could

you argue he had a momentBut he continued to workrdquo

This unique compact in which a nonprofit has taken on the role

of a regulator of industry in lieu of more traditional government

oversight mdash and therefore is not subject to public disclosure

laws allowing its work to mostly remain shrouded in secrecy

mdash means the AHA is accountable only to Hollywood itself (For

more on the AHA and the IACF see sidebar)

Dr S Kwane Stewart a veterinarian who took over as the

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 617

Dr S Kwane Stewart head of the

AHArsquos monitoring program in

reference to an incident involving a

tiger on Foxrsquos Life of Pi

national director of the AHArsquos ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo

program in April defends the arrangement ldquoThis whole idea

that wersquore cozy with the industry mdash itrsquos simply not the caserdquo he

tells THR ldquoWe first and foremost want to keep the animals

saferdquo Nevertheless he adds ldquowe need to keep in mind that

[the producers and directors of productions the AHA monitors]

want to arrive at their vision as wellrdquo For example he says

consider the unique challenges posed by working with horses

ldquoThese are huge animals with blazing speed on stilts If you

want to avoid incidents keep them in the stables entirelyrdquo

In fact it was after the deaths of four horses during the

production of HBOrsquos now-canceled horse-racing drama series

Luck in 2010-2012 that new complaints from animal-rights

activists and on-set whistle-blowers emerged about the

effectiveness of the AHA and its often close relationship to the

industry (see sidebar for the full story on what happened on

Luck)

In January Barbara Casey the Studio City-based Film amp TV

Unitrsquos former head of production sued the AHA HBO and

Stewart Productions (not affiliated with Dr Stewart) in LA

Superior Court for wrongful termination stemming from the

fallout over the horse deaths She alleges that she was

informed of ongoing mistreatment of animals on the Luck set

and aggressively advocated for safer conduct which held up

the production schedule As a result Luckrsquos makers ldquoexercised

their political muscle and influence with AHArdquo she says and

her employer subsequently fired her under pressure

Casey alleges that her dismissal is part of a larger pattern in

which the organization ldquokowtowsrdquo to the industry a claim

echoed by AHA employees to whom THR has spoken In her

court filings Casey enumerates repeated incidents of

appeasement and collusion These range from the death of a

cow on HBOrsquos Temple Grandin and the incident involving King

the tiger on Life of Pi to the 27 animal fatalities during the

production of The Hobbit

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ONHBOrsquoS lsquoLUCKrsquo ndash AND WHY

NOBODY WAS HELDACCOUNTABLE

Almost from the start of production in 2010

HBOrsquos horse-racing drama Luck was plagued

by allegations that its horses often were elderly

broken-down underfed and potentially even

drugged HBO strenuously defended its safety

protocols but four thoroughbred horses died

during production THRrsquos investigation drawing

on internal information obtained from AHA

sources found that not only may the horse

deaths have been avoidable but the true equine

damage was more extensive than originally

thought ndash and because two subsequent

investigations appear to have been botched no

one was held accountable

Read More gt

Casey also alleges in her filing that ldquoin order to protect Steven Spielberg one of the most

notable and influential persons in the history of film and because of the volume of press and

other publicity this film garnered AHA agreed to cover up the death of [a] horse [on War

Horse] and to give the 2011 film its lsquoNo Animals Were Harmedrsquo end creditrdquo

ldquoThey told animal control tofmdash themselves This is worsethan doing nothing This is

like a cop not just ignoring acrime but helping cover it

uprdquo

Bob Ferber retired LA City

Attorneyrsquos office prosecutor of the

AHA during his attempted 2005

investigation of horse deaths on

Foxrsquos Flicka

In its response to Caseyrsquos allegations the AHA says ldquoWe

absolutely and categorically deny the sensationalist

inflammatory misleading and untrue allegationsrdquo It adds ldquoWe

look forward to vigorously defending ourselves through the

proper legal channelsrdquo A hearing in the case is scheduled for

March 2014

An HBO spokeswoman declined to answer questions about

Luck referring THR to previously issued statements including

ldquoFrom the very outset of the project the safety of the animals

was of paramount concern to us Assertions of lax attitudes or

negligence could not be further from the truthrdquo

LUCK GUSMANO CESARETTHBO

Luck horses ran on the Santa Anita Park racetrack

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 717

Top

Animal cruelty has been a fact of life on productions since the inception of

Hollywood (Nearly 100 horses died during the shooting of 1959rsquos Ben-Hur alone)

Action-adventure films and Westerns were known to treat animals harshly in their

attempts to attain verisimilitude long before the advent of CGI As early as 1939 after a horse

was forced onto a slippery platform tilted to ensure it would plummet 70 feet off a cliff to its

death during the shooting of Jesse James the Hays Office typically busy with other forms of

morality policing invited the AHA (not to be confused with the Humane Society of the United

States) to be present on sets

Photo taken of a horse named Glass on the set of the Hallmark Channel movie Loversquos Resounding Courage shortly after

the animal w as impaled in an accident He w as soon euthanized

In 1980 following public outcry over animal mistreatment on Heavenrsquos Gate which practiced a

ghastly form of gritty realism that included real cockfights and disemboweled cows that

arrangement was more formally ratified by a clause in the collective bargaining agreement

between the actorsrsquo guild and the producersrsquo association (AHA monitors were barred at

gunpoint from the Heavenrsquos Gate set in Montanarsquos Glacier National Park)

The organization subsequently was authorized to review scripts and show up on any SAG set

at any time Perhaps more important its monitors who are licensed as law enforcement

officers could write citations and even mdash solely within the state of California mdash make arrests

Notably neither power has been exercised in the AHArsquos Hollywood history which spans at

least 35000 productions since 1980

The AHA is quick to point out in the widely circulated

ldquoProtecting Your Ass From Harmrdquo AHA industry pamphlet

about its work that the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo credit

serves as an effective shield against potentially damaging

PR attacks from animal rights groups mdash the AHA positions

itself as the far more moderate bulwark to People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals which believes CGI should

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 817

entirely replace real animals mdash as well as being a now-

necessary disclaimer required by many distributors and

networks prior to release or airing

The AHArsquos jurisdiction is broad but far from complete American productions working outside a

union agreement or shooting internationally are charged a contractual fee of $80 per hour for a

monitor not including travel expenses But according to internal AHA Film amp TV Unit advisory

board meeting minutes from 2010 reviewed by THR many productions simply decline to

participate

Meanwhile only about 50 percent of animal action is monitored domestically according to Film

amp TV Unit senior adviser Karen Rosa The gap is due to a variety of factors from nonunion

productions that opt out to late notifications distant locations fluctuating shooting schedules

and inexperienced crewmembers who either donrsquot know or mdash in certain cases mdash donrsquot want to

ask for monitoring in the first place In addition because of the increase in movie and television

production in recent years the AHA sometimes doesnrsquot have enough safety representatives to

handle requested coverage resulting in brief visits by monitors or even none at all

ldquoReps get sent to multiple sets in a day which means we can check off a set as lsquocoveredrsquo

even though we only stayed there for five minutesrdquo says one staffer who notes that limited

personnel resources are allocated toward the riskiest scenes ldquoI feel that more and more this

is done not to make sure we at least see the trainers and animals and make sure that itrsquos not a

horrible situation but rather to keep the numbers up and make it look like we are monitoring

more than we actually arerdquo

The AHA frequently touts a 9998 percent safety rating mdash

meaning almost 100 percent of the animals they monitor are

not harmed But the AHArsquos internal critics insist the number is

farcical with no real statistical grounding They claim the

aggregate overall ratio is purposefully inflated by the inclusion of

high volumes of impossible-to-count insects mdash ldquoThink of days

where yoursquore using say 10000 worms 10000 cockroaches

50000 ants 25000 beetlesrdquo explains one employee mdash while

the number of injuries or deaths is undercounted because the

organization doesnrsquot account for those that occur while an

animal is in transit or at a holding facility (as opposed to

specifically on set) Adds a colleague ldquoItrsquos a total BS number

made up for PR purposesrdquo

In response Rosa says that the score is based on an

estimated number of animals monitored by the organization

over five years versus the number of known incidents ldquoI did it

by incident not necessarily by number of animals So when

you say insects well I did count fish helliprdquo she says ldquoWe do

about 100000 animals a year mdash and thatrsquos low because

sometimes therersquos a herd of cattle and a flock of birds So we

can only estimaterdquo

On Disneyrsquos The Chroniclesof Narnia Prince Caspian

horses were repeatedlypulled for injuries ndash internalAHA notes from a single day

show that 14 were out ofcommission at once Yet itreceived the No Animals

Were Harmed creditbecause the organizationnow explains none of the

injuries were serious or dueto ldquointentional harmrdquo

Top

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 917

The AHArsquos willingness to please the industry can begin even before shooting starts

with whatrsquos described as a politicized process of scheduling and placing its

monitors on sets Employees claim (and Caseyrsquos suit alleges) that productions

with strong ties to the organization often are able to successfully request which safety reps will

enforce their sets (Rosa denies this ldquoWe never make those kinds of promisesrdquo she says

ldquoWersquore not resourced well enough to make those kinds of promisesrdquo)

Why ldquoReps are only lsquogoodrsquo if theyrsquore not making any wavesrdquo explains one employee ldquoReps

who get complaints from a trainer are pulled from a set The ones who stand up for the

animalsrsquo welfare are labeled as troublemakersrdquo Adds another ldquoManagement calls reps who

complain to management [about issues on set] lsquonegativersquo Reps who have a professional

conflict with trainers or production are lsquonot being collaborativersquothinsprdquo (In her legal filings Casey

makes similar allegations)

The conflict of interest is worsened by the fact that some monitors are known to maintain

close friendships with their industry counterparts particularly the animal trainers whom they

most closely shadow on set One AHA rep dog-sits for trainers Others party with them (Many

monitors and trainers were classmates at the Moorpark College Exotic Animal Training and

Management Program north of Thousand Oaks) The most extreme examples involve a

handful of AHA reps who like Gina Johnson according to sources have engaged in intimate

relationships with those whose sets they oversee Stewart says that the AHA ldquobecame aware

of [the relationship]rdquo after the fact (Ms Johnson did not respond to requests for comment from

THR)

As for Johnsonrsquos dramatic email about the tiger incident ldquoI think Gina in her expression as she

would probably tell anybody probably overreactedrdquo Stewart says ldquoWas it a close call What

is indisputable was that no harm came to King Could you argue he had a moment But he

continued to workrdquo Fox also says the incident wasnrsquot serious ldquoThe tiger King was never

harmed and did not lsquonearly drownrsquo during the productionrdquo says a spokesman ldquoWe take on-set

safety very seriously and take every precaution necessary to ensure that no one mdash animal or

human mdash is harmed during the production of our filmsrdquo

An audit of the industrygrant that helps fund theAHA found evidence of

deliberate miscoding of timesheets The AHA says it was a

As to whether the AHA should implement a recusal policy when

reps become too close to their subjects Stewart says ldquoYour

question is a fair question The objectivity should be taken into

considerationrdquo

AHArsquos internal critics also express concern over the recently

departed communications chief Jone Boumanrsquos policy of

securing marketing and fundraising arrangements with animal-

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1017

ldquomisunderstandingrdquo that hasbeen corrected

oriented films from Paramountrsquos Hotel for Dogs (2009) to

Disneyrsquos War Horse before shooting is completed Initiatives

can range widely On Foxrsquos Marley amp Me (2008) for instance

they included a PSA campaign about pet adoption as well as a

promotion in which gifts purchased after being ldquofetchedrdquo by a

Marley widget on Amazoncom resulted in an 8 percent

donation to the AHA

ldquoCourting Spielberg mdash or any large name mdash is standardrdquo says one employee ldquoPR

relationships have to be established early on to lsquopartner uprsquo for publicity purposes profiting both

sides mdash versus us doing our job on set Pressure is then put on the rep to lsquoplay nicersquo or they

simply put a rep on the film who is known to lsquoplay nicersquo while downplaying any issues that may

prove controversialrdquo

According to employees the desire to collaborate with Hollywood emanates from the top They

say the AHArsquos CEO Robin Ganzert most recently deputy director of philanthropic services at

the Pew Charitable Trusts and with no previous professional animal welfare experience

aggressively pursues potential revenue- and awareness-raising partnerships with the

entertainment industry and has made the glitzy annual Hero Dog Awards gala mdash at which

prime 10-person table sponsorships start at $25000 mdash a centerpiece of her three-year tenure

Mark Stubis a spokesman for the AHA defends the partnerships ldquoItrsquos made very clear that

that promotion is not going to happen if that end credit is not granted Itrsquos a completely

independent actionrdquo

Top

KEY PLAYERS IN THIS DRAMAIllustrations by Michael Hoew eler

Jone Bouman

Former communications chief

Her marketing and fundraising arrangements

w ith animal-oriented f ilms raised conflict-of-

interest concerns among some AHA staffers

Gina Johnson

Safety representative

The on-set safety rep monitoring the Life of Pi

production in Taiw an w ho w rote a dramatic

email about a tiger incident

Barbara Casey

Former head of production

An AHA veteran w ho has f iled a w rongful

termination law suit alleging she w as f ired for

aggressively pushing improved safety

measures The AHA denies her allegations

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1117

Robin Ganzert

CEO

With a professional background in

fundraising she has pursued potential

revenue- and aw areness-raising Hollyw ood

partnerships

Karen Rosa

Senior advisor

A top Film amp TV Unit off icial she helps decide

how AHA pursues its investigations

adjudicates its production ratings and

aw ards

Dr Kwane Stewart

National Director

A veterinarian he became national director of

the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo program in

April

A HArsquos internal critics also say that investigations into injuries and deaths rarely are

initiated of the organizationrsquos own accord Rather they say AHA probes are

reactive and generally a face-saving tactic when incidents that occurred on its watch emerge

in the press and that the follow-through on such inquiries is risible

On Paramountrsquos Failure toLaunch a handler dropped achipmunk stepped on it andkilled it The AHArsquos officialrating review ignores the

incident because it occurredafter cameras stopped

rolling for the day and ldquonointentional cruelty was

involvedrdquo

ldquoIf we acknowledge that something went wrong and wasnrsquot a

lsquotragic unpreventable accidentrsquo it means we bear some

responsibilityrdquo says one employee ldquoThe AHA does not want

responsibilityrdquo

Likewise when monitors do report serious incidents to their

superiors at the Film amp TV Unitrsquos Studio City headquarters they

claim there rarely is significant follow-up ldquoThere are plenty of

examples where we brought things to a higher level and

management squashed itrdquo says another staffer ldquoIt just goes

into the database and nothing ever happens Things go away all

the time theyrsquore never taken furtherrdquo

That attitude AHArsquos internal critics say results in a

disinclination to audit its own effectiveness in recent years

THR has obtained the last known report of such illnesses

injuries and deaths compiled by AHA a review that spanned

2001 to 2006 and focused on the perpetually at-risk equine

population

It concluded that 82 horses had been adversely affected while working on sets during this

period mdash ranging from The Alamo to Hidalgo Flicka to 310 to Yuma mdash with 58 injuries and

eight deaths (ldquocollision with camera carrdquo ldquostepped on lead roperdquo ldquoimpalementrdquo) Such

extensive transparent details about the reality of the on-set animal toll never have been shared

with the public

AHArsquos senior management ldquodiscourages this type of data mining so the organization can

appear ignorant of the factsrdquo one employee speculates ldquoSeveral of the reps have requested

the ability to data mine and have been told there is no funding to do this and the office doesnrsquot

have time to make this a priorityrdquo An AHA spokesman tells THR that it ldquowill take another study

under advisementrdquo

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1217

PETA remains concerned ldquoAs long as we have an organization thatrsquos intimidated by powerful

filmmakers the animals are always going to loserdquo says Kathy Guillermo a senior vice

president

Similarly when an investigation actually is launched AHArsquos

critics question whether the goal is to get to the bottom of a case

of alleged animal abuse or to minimize publicity problems for

itself and the film or TV production They describe a

management intent on searching whenever possible for reasons

to disregard trouble often by declaring that an incident falls

outside of its jurisdiction particularly with those that occur

physically off set in transit or at holding facilities following days

weeks or months of an animalrsquos work which can cause

cumulative physical and emotional stress and fragility ldquoWe are

responsible when there is a death to investigate it not to ignore

itrdquo says a staffer ldquoItrsquos in our guidelines to look at those deaths

whether on camera or off to make sure that the presence of the

production even just the hustle and bustle of the set didnrsquot

cause the deathrdquo

The aversion to investigations also is illustrated sources say by

the tightly circumscribed jurisdictional parameters that AHA

management sets for itself which the AHA says is due in part to

inadequate funding even as the number of productions has

dramatically increased over the years The sources point to a

lack of interest in pursuing inquiries in recent years into for

example why sick animals might have been made to work by

trainers as in the productions of Marmaduke and Our Idiot

Brother [Editors note After Animals Were Harmed was

published Christina Potter the owner trainer and on-set handler

of the dog in Our Idiot Brother contacted THR to reiterate that

his death was completely unrelated to his on-set work She

said From the day he started acting strangely to the day he

died (5 days later) Gable did not go back to work We had not

been on set for approximately a week when Gable started acting

lethargically ldquo] Or why a trainer was allowed to illegally transfer

exotic animals across state lines forcing their euthanasia (Four

deer meant to work on a Nature Valley Granola commercial

were put down by the Washington Department of Fish amp Wildlife

The AHA says local authorities were responsible for the matter)

Or why animals might die in transit after a day of shooting (as

occurred with the horse on War Horse which the AHA says died

ldquoin transit homerdquo of ldquonatural causesrdquo) or at a holding facility away

from the set (The Hobbitrsquos fatalities)

CHARLEY GALLAYWIREIMAGEGETTY IMAGESFrom left Carson Kressley Cesar Canine Cuisinersquos

Tierney Monaco and AHA CEO Ganzert at the 2011

Hero Dog Awards

IS THIS HOLLYWOODrsquoS MOSTDANGEROUS CO-DEPENDENT

RELATIONSHIP

After an audit that raised some questions the

entertainment industry group that funds ldquoNo

Animals Were Harmedrdquo required more detailed

information from the AHA but otherwise took no

action After all Hollywood needs the AHA too

Without it the proliferation of on-set animal

injuries and deaths over the years might long

since have led to legislative intervention And itrsquos

hard to imagine the industry wanting the USDA

placing its federal inspectors on productions

tasked with writing transparent published

reports of their daily findings easily viewable

online by the public and funded by a tax on the

productions Read More gt

Stewart says the AHArsquos hands are tied in many of these situations because of its limited

budget and jurisdiction ldquoWe need to ultimately expand our jurisdiction Right now we donrsquot

have jurisdiction for animals in transit or those in holding facilitiesrdquo he says ldquoThose are things I

want to put in place moving forwardrdquo

Top

he result of the flaws in the AHArsquos process mdash from its selection of monitors to the restrictions

on their work and the organizationrsquos resistance to aggressively investigate alleged animal

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1317

Tmistreatment mdash calls into question the film ratings published on the organizationrsquos website

which assess the quality and scope of animal welfare on productions and the ldquoNo

Animals Were Harmedrdquo credit itself

Given the end creditrsquos blunt declarative statement there would not appear to be much wiggle

room But interviews with AHA sources along with internal documents suggest that the AHA

repeatedly has presented a more positive picture of what transpired on productions than its

own monitorsrsquo internal logs would justify Sources say that the end credit disclaimers are

adjudicated and film-rating reviews composed without the input of the monitors who were

actually on set during production and sometimes without even reviewing their reports (The

AHA denies this) Indeed they say there is no set formula governing such findings which in

the end have in certain cases been determined by executives who are overly concerned with

how such decisions may affect the organizationrsquos industry relationships

ldquoThe AHA does not explain why the films get the ratings they do to hide the fact that they do not

give them accurately across the board and that special relationships may be taken into

accountrdquo says one staffer ldquoManagement pressures postproduction [its department

responsible for the assessments] to give good reviews Even relationships that arenrsquot special

yet might be in the future and they donrsquot want to rock the boatrdquo

For example Disneyrsquos Eight Below was awarded the end credit despite a March 21 2005

incident report that noted ldquoThe hero dog seriously got into a fight with two other dogs The

trainer beat the dog harshly which included five punches to its diaphragm Our rep spoke to

him about this and he expressed that he had no choice The office instructed [the rep] to pull

the dogrdquo In its statement to THR the AHA says ldquoThe trainer had to use force to break up the

fight As a result the dogs were not injuredrdquo The AHA rep also asked for more trainers to be

on set

On another Disney project 2008rsquos The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian horses

repeatedly were pulled from production for lameness and injuries mdash AHA internal database

notes from June 23 2007 show that 14 were out of commission at once mdash with problems

ranging from a sore tail and a sore back to a ldquowound on noserdquo Yet the production still received

the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo disclaimer According to AHArsquos statement to THR the end

credit was justified because ldquonone of the injuries were serious and none were due to

intentional harmrdquo

In another incident 2005rsquos Son of the Mask from New Line received the end credit though a

Feb 2 2004 incident filing reveals that ldquomost of the fish died today that were under the care

and control of the prop department [Rep] said they died when the prop department totally

changed the water in the tank and replaced it with town tap waterrdquo Again the AHA says in its

statement the credit was bestowed because ldquowe believed this was not an intentional act of

crueltyrdquo though it also added that the organization ldquotoday would not evaluate it in the same

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1417

wayrdquo

In an interview with THR Candy Spelling a national AHA board member defends the

organizationrsquos intent behind the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo end credit ldquoI think what people

think [it means] is that when a horse dies in the movies it didnrsquot really dierdquo she says ldquoI think

that people think [the AHArsquos monitoring] is just when the cameras are rollingrdquo As for her

interpretation of the end credit she says ldquoI assume that no animals were harmed during the

shootingrdquo

Top

I n many cases reviewed by THR the AHArsquos official explanation of events does not

match up with its own internal records often in favor of the production Consider the

death of the chipmunk during the making of Failure to Launch

ldquo[The handler] dropped the chipmunk stepped on it and killed itrdquo according to a June 6 2005

incident note written by the on-set monitor ldquoLesson learned Donrsquot carry the chipmunk on your

shoulderrdquo Today the AHA says the chipmunk fell out of the trainerrsquos pocket when he tripped

Although the film didnrsquot receive the ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo credit the AHA attributed its

denial not to the dead chipmunk but to the studio failing to screen the film for the AHA before its

release The organizationrsquos online rating review of the film (ldquoMonitored Acceptablerdquo) mentions

only that a chipmunk was ldquoprepped for several weeks and was very tame and accustomed to

peoplerdquo not that one died

As for the dead chipmunk the AHA in its statement to THR says it was not a factor in its

decision regarding the credit because ldquoit occurred after filming and no intentional cruelty was

involvedrdquo

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1517

Indeed the AHArsquos definition of ldquoacceptablerdquo is so unclear that it

reveals little to the public about what actually took place during

production On Disneyrsquos Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of

the Black Pearl (2003) for example fish and other animals

were killed in underwater explosions (The AHA statement to

THR contradicts its on-set reprsquos contemporaneous notes and

says ldquoThe explosions were properly set uprdquo The AHA also

says ldquoit was never determined that the cause of the fish

washing up was due to the explosionsrdquo)

On There Will Be Blood from Paramount Vantage multiple

horses died including a couple from colic which often is

triggered by heatstroke (Nine days before they died on Junethinsp15

2006 the AHA rep on set in Texas received an anonymous

complaint that ldquoit is a very dry hot dusty and windy dayrdquo and

ldquothe horses are not getting waterrdquo)

In its statement to THR the AHA says ldquoThere was a rash of horses suffering from colic

throughout this countyrdquo at the time In its online review however the AHA did not reveal the

horse deaths or that colic was an issue It gave the film a modified end credit that read

ldquoAmerican Humane Association monitored the animal actionrdquo The AHA says viewers were

expected to infer that this truncated end credit ldquoindicates Accidental Harmrdquo to animals

occurred on the film No known AHA probes were launched in either case and both films

received ldquoAcceptablerdquo designations

The AHA also has in recent years developed a new category ldquoSpecial Circumstancesrdquo for

productions on which mdash either before during or after shooting mdash ldquoan unpreventable illness

injury or fatality can occur to an animalrdquo on a monitored set Itrsquos been given to The Hobbit Luck

and Sonyrsquos Zookeeper (A giraffe died on the latter film The organization wrote on its website

that ldquothe necropsy revealed nothing alarmingrdquo indicating that any health issue was ldquolikely

related to its maturing agerdquo but didnrsquot make readily available online a copy of the official report

it had reviewed to arrive at this determination or explain why an elderly giraffe was in the

production in the first place)

ldquo lsquoSpecial Circumstancesrsquo is used any time AHA feels it is not in their best interest to give a film

lsquoOutstandingrsquo lsquoAcceptablersquo or lsquoUnacceptablersquo in order to protect their own self-interestsrdquo says

one employee

ldquoBelieved Acceptablerdquo is yet one more designation awarded by the AHA in cases when it hasnrsquot

monitored all of the productionrsquos animal action and canrsquot truly vouch for safety Adds another

employee of the proliferating ratings ldquoItrsquos bogus Either animals got harmed or notrdquo

Top

Itrsquos in this already compromised environment that AHArsquos

management is moving ahead with a ldquofee-for-servicerdquo

plan Under the new arrangement coverage will be paid

for directly by productions rather than solely through the IACF

grant The initiative was first proposed over the summer with the

AHA wanting it to begin Sept 1 But the Alliance of Motion Picture

and Television Producers apparently caught off-guard pushed

back both regarding the newly incurred costs and the short

turnaround of its implementation Itrsquos now slated for Jan 1

The IACF supports the new arrangement which will augment its

YOST AP PHOTODAMIAN DOVARGANES

Chimpanzees Cody (left) and Sable kiss Yost at his

former training facility in Californiarsquos San Bernardino

County He now operates out of Louisiana

WHY DOES HOLLYWOOD

ANIMALSWEREHARMED

RELATED MATERIALS amp STORIES RESEARCH DOCUMENTS HBOS LUCK IACF amp AHA SID YOST

COMPLICIT TO CRUELTY IMPROPER COZINESS ABUSIVE HISTORY UNSEEMLY TIES UNTRUSTWORTHY INQUIRIES QUESTIONABLE RATINGS SINS OF OMISSION FRAUGHT FUTURE

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1617

grant But AHArsquos critics argue that the ldquofee-for-servicerdquo plan will

worsen the potential conflicts of interest now that productions will

pay directly for the monitors that oversee them

Both Stewart and Rosa say the new funding plan is critical to the

AHArsquos ability to expand its monitoring and to protect more

animals ldquoThe industry has grown dramatically over the decades

that wersquove been doing thisrdquo Rosa says ldquoThe model of funding

wersquove had doesnrsquot satisfy the needs of the industry todayrdquo

Stewart adds that if the change in funding occurs ldquoIt doesnrsquot

compromise that ability to be objective on setrdquo

WHY DOES HOLLYWOODCONTINUE TO HIRE SID YOST

Animal trainer Sidney Yost is having a great

year Hersquos been hired to coordinate or provide

animals on prominent 2013 releases including

Lee Danielsrsquo The Butler 12 Years a Slave and

Olympus Has Fallen Yet Yost also is battling

the US Department of Agriculture which

alleges a litany of violations including

substandard veterinary care shoddy shelter

and poorly cleaned facilities and employing ldquoon

multiple occasionsrdquo a stick to hit a monkey

named Rowdy a lion named Romeo and

multiple tigers Yost has filed a detailed

response with the USDA challenging many of

the charges but the agency is seeking to

suspend or revoke his Animal Welfare Act

license which would effectively put him out of

business Read More gt

In addition to the ldquofee-for-servicerdquo plan the AHA says it is making other major changes to its

ldquoNo Animals Were Harmedrdquo program Putting a trained veterinarian such as Stewart in charge

is one The AHA also has converted its industry advisory committee created in 2009 into a

scientific advisory committee made up of an animal behaviorist veterinarians a specialist in

animal ethics and welfare and others The AHA also says that in late 2012 it instituted a policy

of requiring ldquothird-party investigations any time a serious injury or death occur[s] on setrdquo

Finally in what Rosa calls a ldquorestructuringrdquo the AHA recently fired several of its animal

monitors some of whom had been with the organization for many years They will be replaced

by five licensed veterinarians in states with high production rates

The organizationrsquos critics see that as an ominous development a smokescreen to allow it to

purge employees deemed to be troublemakers and replace them with vets who may be well-

positioned to care for an injured animal but arenrsquot trained to protect it from being harmed in the

first place during the filming of a movie or TV show

ldquoThe moral compass of the entire place is off the hookrdquo says one AHA employee Adds

another ldquoWersquove been hopeful for change but not this Itrsquos not changing Itrsquos getting worserdquo

This story first appeared in the December 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine

Top

ADVERTISEMENT

1182014 Animals Were Harmed Hollywoods Nightmare of Death Injury and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive

httpwwwhollywoodreportercomfeature 1717

^ Top

copy2013 The Hollywood Reporter

All rights reserved

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