Photo: BEN ROTHSTEIN/PRIME VIDEO
A production horse on the U.K. set forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas died, PEOPLE can confirm.
The horse died due to cardiac failure on March 21 ahead of rehearsals for Amazon Studios' fantasy streaming series, according to a statement provided to PEOPLE.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died on 21st March,” a spokesperson for Amazon Studios shared in the 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 sources also noted to Deadline that the deceased horse exhibited no health problems before its death on theRings of Powerset. This is reportedly the first on-set horse fatality for The Devil’s Horsemen in the company’s 50 years of business.
Amazon / Courtesy Everett Collection
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According toVariety,the horse was standing around with roughly 20 other horses when it collapsed. After the death, everyone was reportedly asked to leave the set for 30-45 minutes while the horse’s body was removed.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) provided a statement to PEOPLE on the unfortunate incident, voicing its belief that productions should no longer be using real horses on shoots.
“Animals can’t rely on protection from filmmakers or on-set monitors who regard them as props. PETA hopes this tragedy will encourage those who witness on-set cruelty or neglect during productions to come forward. They or anyone who has read a script that left them concerned about the proposed use of animals can contact PETA’s whistleblower hotline at 323-210-2233 or visit PETA.org/Report. Anonymity will be respected,” Lange added.
A similarhorse fatality incident occurred last July— unconnected toThe Devil’s Horsemen— on the set of HBO’sThe Gilded Age. In response, PETA wrote an open letter to HBO demanding that the network show accountability and reevaluate its animal wrangling practices.
source: people.com
