PETA Is Coming After ‘Westworld’ For Their Use Of Elephants
One of the episodes of Westworld saw the existence of Park Six, a separate park that had Bengal tigers roaming around. And elephants, of course.
PETA released a statement condemning the network’s use of the animals, which come from a company called Have Trunk Will Travel. PETA claims that a 2011 video showing footage of HTWT elephants being shocked during training includes an elephant named Tai that was used in Westworld.
“All elephants used for TV and film are trained through domination and painful techniques, including the use of sharp metal bull hooks and electric prods,” PETA wrote in an open letter to Casey Bloys, HBO’s president of programming. “Many animals develop abnormal behavior and become unhealthy, depressed, or aggressive because of the mistreatment that they experience.”
HBO then wrote a full statement via Deadline:
“All of the animals featured on HBO series are treated with the utmost care and respect for their health, safety and well-being. A certified animal safety representative from American Humane was present at all times during any animal action on the set of Westworld. The AHA has confirmed that the animals were well-treated, and the production received the designation of No Animals Were Harmed. We are reviewing the circumstances related to archival training footage which included one of the elephants that appeared in the series. Of course, none of this video was shot during the production and does not in any way reflect practices on our sets.”