People walk by the Embassy Theater where a giant statue of the character Gandalf from the upcoming movie "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" overlooks the passersby in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.
YAHOO.COM - Animal wranglers involved in the making of "The Hobbit" movie trilogy say the production company
is responsible for the deaths of up to 27 animals, largely because they
were kept at a farm filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other "death
traps."
The American Humane Association,
which is overseeing animal welfare on the films, says no animals were
harmed during the actual filming. But it also says the wranglers'
complaints highlight shortcomings in its oversight system, which
monitors film sets but not the facilities where the animals are housed
and trained.
A spokesman for trilogy director Peter Jackson on Monday acknowledged that horses, goats, chickens and one sheep died at the farm near Wellington where about 150 animals were housed for the movies, but he said some of the deaths were from natural causes. click here to read more