PETA representatives thanked the filmmakers for choosing special effects over using real animals on set.
“As I understand it, it is very difficult to teach an animal to speak,” the director of the film, Jon Favreau, joked. “It is better that there are no animals on the set. I’m a city guy, so I figured CG animals would be the right choice.”
To celebrate director Jon Favreau’s decision not to use live animals on set and his revolutionary use of technology, PETA sponsored the buyout of Hollywood Lion Louie and also sent lion-shaped vegan chocolates to the casting team as a thank you for casting their votes to the beautiful animals “grown” on the computer.
Who was saved in honor of the Lion King?
Louie is a lion now living in the Lions Tigers & Bears Sanctuary in California. He was given to Hollywood trainers after being taken from his mother as a child in South Africa and then forced to perform for fun. Thanks to PETA, Louis now lives in a real spacious and comfortable place, gets delicious food and the care he deserves, instead of being used for movies and TV.
How can you help?
Louie is lucky, but countless other animals used for entertainment endure physical and psychological abuse from their trainers. When not forced to perform, many animals born into this industry spend their lives in cramped, filthy cages, deprived of good mobility and companionship. Many are prematurely separated from their mothers, a cruel practice for both the infant and the mother, and deprive mothers of the opportunity to care for and nurture them, which is necessary for normal development. Don’t be fooled by the American Humane (AH) “No Animals Wearmed” seal of approval. Despite their monitoring, animals used in film and television are constantly exposed to dangerous situations that, in some cases, can lead to injury or even death. AH has no control over pre-production techniques and the living conditions of animals when they are not used for filming. The only way to protect animals in film and television is not to use them and instead opt for humane alternatives such as computer-generated images or animatronics.
Do not support films that use real animals, do not buy tickets for them, not only in ordinary cinemas, but also on online sites.