Advertisement
American Humane Ensures Animal Safety On-Set
Christian Bale, Ben Petry and William Evans in James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma. Photo: Richard Foreman/Lionsgate
While filming a scene on the set of James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma last fall, in Diablo Canyon near Santa Fe, New Mexico, a horse collided with an “ultimate arm” camera car, bringing extreme harm to itself and its rider, a professional stuntman. The accident landed the rider in the hospital in critical condition and the horse ultimately had to be put down.
This is where the American Humane Film & Television Unit steps in.
“During any stunt, the risk is that if the animal does not respond to the trainer, the potential is there for accidental harm, which is why it’s important to have American Humane on set,” says Jone Bouman, head of communications at American Humane. “Productions need to work closely with the trainer, crew members and with American Humane to ensure safety.”
American Humane has been protecting the rights of animals on movie sets since 1940. The association is responsible for making sure incidents like the 3:10 to Yuma accident don’t happen on a regular basis. Representatives from the association fly out to movie sets all over the country to observe and act as witnesses to make that no animals are harmed. American Humane currently has more than 35 employees who come from a variety of backgrounds, including former veterinarians and animal behaviorists. But, with the increasing use of such devices as “ultimate arm” cameras on sets, the challenge of ensuring safety for animals is that much harder.
These specialized cameras were specifically created for perilous situations like high-speed car chases, racetrack scenes and, yes, scampering up the mountains of New Mexico. The device itself is a crane attached to a car going at a speed of over 100 miles per hour and can swing all the way around the car in about five seconds.
“After the accident on 3:10 to Yuma, American Humane responded by forming a team of humane officers and investigators for the purpose of updating equine safety guidelines,” says Bouman. “Any accident is very carefully reviewed to better inform and better update American Humane safety guidelines.”
For more information on American Humane, visit www.americanhumane.org.
SHARE THIS STORY |
TAGS |
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Reddit
YahooAdvertisement
COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Amy Weber on 12/07/07 at 1:40 am
Great story, It’s nice to see that the animals are taken very serious.
Thank you.
- Comment by new mexico tours on 1/15/08 at 3:05 pm
I can’t watch a movie where animals are hurt. I loved flipper and lessie but I think that trained animals are not very happy.
Latest from the blog:
Notes from Movieland: 14: Sundance, 28: Hollywood High
I promised to write about Antonio (Tony) Manriquez a few blogs ago. He’s one of the cinematic child wonders currently coming up through the ranks. Though still pursuing his own moviemaking expression on some level, Tony, 28, now teaches other youngsters the magic of moviemaking. One of the reasons I wanted to write about Tony was his incredible passion for and knowledge of not only the craft of moviemaking, but the world of film.
Posted 10.12.08 | Notes From Movieland | No comments yet...
Other recent posts:
In Theaters Now: Body of Lies, City of Ember, Quarantine, Happy-Go-Lucky & RocknRolla
indieProducer’s 6th Annual Screenwriting Competition & Short Film Contest
Penélope Cruz To Receive Tribute at Gotham Awards
Posts people are talking about:
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
