‘The Hobbit’ Blamed for Dozens of Animal Deaths
We’re not going too far out on a limb when we predict that Peter Jackson’s upcoming “Hobbit” trilogy will be one of history’s biggest franchises—we’ll almost definitely end up seeing it this Christmas. But the series may have to forgo the usual “no animals were harmed in the making of this film” claims, because several wranglers who worked on the New Zealand production before quitting in protest now blame the production company itself for the deaths of dozens of barnyard creatures.
While the American Humane Association claims that no animals were harmed during filming, Jackson’s spokesperson acknowledged that “horses, goats, chickens and one sheep died” at a farm used to house wildlife actors with bit roles in the movie, calling the horses’ demise “avoidable” but claiming that producers worked to improve safety measures after the deaths (most of which occurred due to the sinkholes and steep cliffs surrounding the farm).
Will
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