Animals on Movie Sets

There are many common misconceptions about a day in the life of a movie animal. 

There are some people who believe movie animals are unloved, neglected, or abused.  This is simply WRONG.  There are some unscrupulous or incompetent people in this industry, just as there are in every area of life, but there are also many examples of people who came to this profession because they love animals and who work magnificently to ensure their animals welfare, safety, and happiness.  Every animal we work LOVES to be on set.  On days that we are working they line up to be first in the truck.  

We will not accept a job unless we are certain that our animals will be very well cared for.  They will be kept warm in winter and cool in summer.  They will have comfortable accommodations where they can relax between takes.  They will be the center of attention and get TONS of treats.  They will be loved and rewarded frequently.  They will never be put in danger.  The training is always fun and upbeat, and they have a GREAT time!  

Another difficult ethical question concerning movie animals is how do you prevent the public from seeing something on screen and going out and trying to imitate what they saw?

• People see 101 Dalmations and run out to get a Dalmation,
• People see Babe and get a Border Collie. 
• People see a well trained wolf and think that wolves make great pets. 
• People see how "easy" it is to own a dog in the movies--the dog disappears whenever they want, and never pees on the floor, and people develop inaccurate notions of animal ownership.
• People meet my Anatolian and think he is calm and gentle and want to know where they can get one just like him.
• If our Laekenois works too much the breed will become too popular and will be over bred and ruined.
• There may be a scene in a movie where a wolf attacks a sheep, and ranchers will see it and be even more sure that wolves are dangerous predators.

What to do about this, and how to reconcile it with our profession, is one of the central philosophical questions of our lives. Since we work animals in the entertainment industry, they are often in the public eye, and whether we like it or not that sometimes means people will go get animals because they think they will be just like the one they see on screen. Even when we are not on screen, every time we are featured in a story about how our SAR dog saved someone's life, or do a trick demo at the fair, people will see winsome, obedient animals and some of them may run out and get pets because of it.  This is very upsetting, and makes a compelling initial case as to why we should NEVER let people see our animals lest they run out and get animals. And this is very much on our minds every day as we make decisions about where to go and which jobs to take and what to say to people. However, my personal view is a little different then this...

If I accepted the logic that I should not train animals well because some people may incorrectly try to follow my example, I would be paralyzed--anything I do in life is a possible source of someone following my example and doing something that is bad. If I drive my car, get married, sit in my room, have children, donate money to charities, whatever, each of these may be a good choice for me, but if someone is watching and emulating me, they may do great harm. So, to me this argument suggests that there is NO action I can take that may not have some negative consequence. Heck, I could not even escape this conundrum by committing suicide because someone might follow my example... I certainly could not own or train any animals since I think most people are not qualified to do so. To me this basic logic may sound good at first, but since it leads to an absurd conclusion, it is ultimately very flawed thinking.

I believe that I have a moral obligation to do the best I can in the world--to be the best person I can. I believe that in order to do so, I must take Right action at every juncture, and must be true to my beliefs. I believe I should do my best to help the people around me, but do not feel accountable for every decision made by every person who sees me. I recognize that sometimes my best action may have negative consequences, but believe that far more often it has positive consequences. I train animals. I do it to the best of my abilities, and devote huge temporal, financial, and experiential resources to the undertaking. I also view every moment in public as an opportunity to educate people on how HUGE an undertaking this is, and I believe my example dissuades FAR more people than it entices. Last weekend we had a group of people over to train, and we spent some time working with a wolf and explaining to them how much work he is. By the end of the day, every one of them told me how they had always secretly wanted a wolf-like animal but they would just come over and play with ours because they understood that they did not want to make this their life's work. We had people over this morning who were wanting to get a primate and were referred to come talk with us. After watching our lemur go through the cupboards, knock things over, and bounce off every wall, they decided that maybe it was not really a good idea. We teach many classes and give demos and consult, and spend considerable time offering advice on email lists, and do everything we can think of to help people learn about husbandry and training. We try to dissuade people from casual animal ownership, and we try to promote positive training methods. I KNOW of thousands of people we have helped through our public activities and example. While this record may be somewhat offset by some negative idiots who have done stupid things because of what they saw, I nonetheless feel that the net outcome is extremely positive not only for us and our animals, but for the majority of the people with whom we have interacted. This is a core belief in my world view--education and knowledge are ultimately more powerful than ignorance. So I teach and learn and share in the steadfast belief that doing so will ultimately make the world a better place than hiding away and keeping my experiences to myself...

On any production where animals are featured, we discuss with the producers the possibility of including a statement during the credits encouraging people NOT to make animal decisions based on any movie, and if they are getting an animal to contact rescue or other appropriate channels.

This issue is not confined to animals--in almost every walk of life there are people at the "top" doing things that should NOT be tried "at home" unless people are willing to put in the time and effort to achieve the same level of skill. I do NOT believe that this means the pros should all stop doing what they are--I believe it is a truly great thing that we have people out there pushing the limits of what can be done, and we need to educate the average at-home viewer that they should not assume that they can drive, fly, leap, train, catch bullets, or do anything else they see on TV. But the minute we stop doing these things because some idiot might try them, then all of humanity will be brought down to the level of the least able person alive. That to me is a terrifying thought...