Excitement for The Hobbit, an upcoming prequel based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, couldn’t be higher. The world premiere for the first film of the upcoming trilogy is only a week away, yet there’s breaking news that the film’s animal wranglers are blaming The Hobbit‘s production company of up to 27 animal deaths.
According to an article by CBS News, a spokesperson for Peter Jackson confirmed horses, goats, chickens and a sheep did die at a farm near Wellington but were due to natural causes. That spokesperson, Matt Dravitzki, did admit that two of the horses’ deaths were avoidable and changes were made to improve the farm’s conditions after those deaths.
The farm was reportedly littered with sinkholes, bluffs and broken down fencing, making it impossible for the livestock to roam freely. One wrangler told the Associated Press that with speeds up to 30mph horses need plenty of flat land to run. The Wellington farm apparently did not have those amenities, rather “death traps.”
“When I arrived at work in the morning, the pony was still alive but his back was broken. He’d come off a bank at speed and crash-landed,” Wrangler Chris Langridge said. “He was in a bad state.” That pony, Rainbow, never made became a hobbit horse as planned. She would end up being euthanized.
A week later another incident occurred when a horse ran into a broken down fence, slashing open its legs. Another horse named Claire drowned in a stream after it had fallen over a bluff. The horses were then put into stables where a third horse died.
According to Wrangler Johnny Smyth, six goats and six sheep died after either falling into sinkholes, contracting worms, or due to feed. Chickens were reportedly left out of their pen, resulting in dogs mauling a dozen of them over two separate incidents.
“We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn’t happen again,” Peter Jackson spokesperson Matt Dravitzki said. As a result of the allegations of misconduct, The American Human Association inspected the farm.
“We made safety recommendations to the animals’ living areas. The production company followed our recommendations and upgraded fence and farm housing, among other things,” AHA released in a statement.
Since then, The Hobbit‘s production company does not lease the Wellington farm and currently no animals are being held on the property. Currently, producers are “attempting to speak with all parties involved to establish the truth.”
