Giraffe On “The Zookeeper” Set Dies

Giraffe On “The Zookeeper” Set Dies; Whistleblower Alleges Neglect

posted by: Heather Moore 1 day ago

About a month ago, PETA wrote to the cast and producers of The Zookeeper, a movie being filmed at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, to inform them that Birds & Animals Unlimited, the company that was hired to supply animals for the film, has a long list of USDA violations. PETA urged the production company to use computer-generated imagery, animatronics, and other technology instead of trained animals in the film, and to record footage of animals already housed at the zoo.

Had they listened, Tweet, an 18-year old giraffe, who was also forced to perform in Ace Ventura and numerous Toys “R” Us commercials, might still be alive today.

Tweet recently collapsed in his pen while being fed.  Necropsy results haven’t been released yet, but according to a whistleblower, the giraffe had been eating pieces of the blue tarp that covered his enclosure. The whistleblower alleges that Tweet’s “owner” and trainers were notified that the giraffe had been eating the tarp, but claims they did nothing about it.

Of course, the whole situation could have been avoided if Tweet weren’t  forced to live in captivity and appear in movies in the first place.

At least he is at peace now. According to the whistleblower, Tweet spent the last few months of his life in a 20-foot-by-20-foot stall, which was barely large enough for an 18-foot-tall giraffe to stand up or lie down in. Along with other animals on the set, Tweet was reportedly kept up all night during filming, which would disrupt a giraffe’s normal sleep schedule.

In their natural habitat, giraffes can live for 25 years and roam up to 400 square miles.  They don’t act, promote toys, or interact with humans. In captivity, trainers often beat them, shock them with electric prods, drug them, deprive them of food, and use other cruel methods to coerce them into performing stressful, unnatural, and even painful acts to amuse humans.

The Zookeeper producers claim that American Humane Association (AHA) representatives were on the set, but this doesn’t guarantee that animals are safe. The AHA does not monitor the training of animals or their living and transport conditions. The AHA’s film-monitoring unit is even funded by the Screen Actors Guild–the very industry that it is monitoring.

PETA is calling on the USDA to investigate Tweet’s death, and it is asking other people involved with the production of the movie to come forward with information about animal neglect or abuse on the set. It is just as important, however, for caring people not to patronize films that feature animals. The animals may be irresistible and the movie may look amusing, but what happens behind the scenes is seldom as innocuous as one might hope

Don’t chain your dog!

Over the next couple of years I am going to lobby hard for a new law of pet responsibility that says a dog cannot be chained for more than 3 hours a day. I do not believe there is a justifiable argument anywhere for this and I have heard them all. If you dont have a secure fenced in yard you have no business owning a dog or cat.

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Coping with Fuzzy Lines in Animal Neglect

This is one of a few of my main issues in life. I have been a dog owner since I was 7 years old. I understand all the expenses and the time and patience required. I understand circumstances change and new arrangements must be made. But my God, would you leave a child behind to fend for itself if you had to relocate? Would you put your child on a chain tied to a tree and leave it there for months at a time? Would you neglect your baby or young child loving attention or abuse them by yelling all the time?

In my studies I have found that men who abuse their wives are the ones that also abuse pets and have no regard for animals in general. Women who abuse animals are often diagnosed with mental problems. We must have greater accountability from the people that are responsible. I put my main focus on breeders. Problem is they are closely tied to Humane Societies and Veterinarians. Humane Societies as a rule do not do anything to help curb pet overpopulation. They do this to not upset their paying membership made up of these breeders. The Vets of course, will never take a stand against the breeders they profit too much from keeping the situation as is.

Can you believe someone would abandon these pups?

Last week, six dogs in poor condition were rescued from a home in deplorable condition in Bothell, WA. With the animals’ hair matted, teeth rotting, and deformed feet, plus garbage and feces littering the property, it seemed a rather clear-cut case of animal neglect. But what do you do when people treat their animals badly, but not exactly illegally? It’s a question I’ve faced on several occasions, and as I raise my daughters to care kindly for animals, I struggle to explain why some animals are treated so poorly.

I spent my summers on a farm in Indiana, and every day after strolling across our field and past the little wood, I’d see a dog chained to her doghouse. I never saw her running free, never saw anyone walking her. They claimed that if they didn’t chain her, she’d roam the neighborhood. But that didn’t seem like a good excuse to me.

When I lived in Palo Alto, my family would pass certain fences on our twice daily walks and a dog on the other side would bark ferociously. I could peek through holes in the fences and recognize that I never saw these dogs walking around the neighborhood – something very unusual because I knew dozens and dozens of the dogs who lived near me. Combined with their appearance and attitude, I was fairly certain the dogs never saw past the fence in their little yards.

In both of these cases, I didn’t feel like I could report the dog owners for abuse. I felt so terrible for these dogs, but didn’t really know what to do. I was almost willing the owners to do something illegal so I could finally take action. But nothing ever happened – I never had that moment of clarity when I felt I could finally call animal services and report the neglectful owners.

So I’d like to know how many of you have witnessed chronic poor treatment of animals in your community. When it’s not legal abuse, have you taken steps to protect the pets? What have you done to help the animals?
Read more: animal welfare

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