Certified Animal Safety Representative™

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  Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media -

  
  

  Protecting Animal Actors

  
  

  Since the introduction of the Guidelines, animal accidents, illnesses and deaths on set have sharply declined. Our Certified Animal Safety Representatives™ apply the Guidelines on the more than 2,000 productions per year that we monitor, keeping tens of thousands of animal actors safe.
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  The Historic Legacy of the

  
  

  Film and Television Unit.

  
  

  American Humane Association’s Film & TV Unit is the leader in the protection of animal actors. With established Guidelines, on-set monitoring, movie ratings and reviews, and stories from the set, the Film & TV Unit is the only animal welfare organization with oversight sanctioned by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). American Humane Association assumes the monumental undertaking of providing protection for animal actors and keeps the public informed.
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  Help Us Continue Our Mission

  
  

  Donate Today.

  
  

  American Humane Association has sole authority, through a contract with the Screen Actors Guild, to protect animals used in the film and television industries. Please help us be there to apply our high standards for the treatment of animals on set, ensuring that "No Animals Were Harmed."®
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  Hey, Producers / Film Makers:

  
  

  Protect Your Ass*

  
  

  *and your horse, your dog and every other animal on your set
  You’re going to use an animal on your set, aren’t you? Well, and why wouldn’t you? What was Dorothy without Toto? The Bradys without Tiger? Harry Potter without Hedwig?
  Have at it then! Just make sure you call American Humane Association and arrange for our services on your production.
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Our People On the Ground

The American Humane Association’s Film & Television Unit conducts training seminars for new, on-call Certified Animal Safety Representatives™ at our offices in Los Angeles. A select group of pre-screened trainees participate in this rigorous process in the hopes of joining our “stable” of on-set safety monitors.

What does it take to be a “Rep”?
Certified Animal Safety Representatives™ working for the American Humane Association’s Film & TV Unit must have an extensive background in animal-related work. Some Safety Reps are vets or have been veterinary technicians, some have worked at shelters or as animal trainers, and others are experienced zookeepers. Many hold advanced degrees in animal behavioral sciences, and several Safety Reps are also certified as Humane Officers and Investigators in their own communities, where they respond to any situation in which an animal needs help. Safety Reps may have species-specific expertise or may be generalists with knowledge of an array of animals. The most important thing they all have in common is a strong foundation upon which they can build their careers as on-set safety monitors for American Humane Association.

Background of the Film & TV Unit
American Humane Association first set up a committee to investigate abuses of animal actors in 1925. In the silent film era, westerns and biblical sagas dominated the screen, and horses were the most at-risk animals working in the movie industry.
A horse and rider were sent over a 70-foot cliff into a raging river in the popular 1939 film Jess James. The stuntman only lost his hat, but the horse wasn’t so lucky. The animal broke its back in the fall and died. Universal outrage over the incident was the catalyst for a new relationship between the American Humane Association and several motion picture directors and producers, and a reassessment of how animals were treated in the industry. In 1940, American Humane Association’s Hollywood Office gained the authority to monitor any movie production that used animal actors. Over time, this oversight evolved to include any filmed media form including television, commercials, direct-to-video (-DVD) projects and music videos.

Training Regime
Based on the strengths of a candidate’s resume, an interview with both the director and the production manager of the Film & TV Unit program determines whether that applicant is a viable trainee. Once the trainees are selected, they participate in a week-long classroom course that covers:

1. The history of American Humane Association’s Film & TV Unit
2. How each department contributes to the fulfillment of the program’s mission
3. Extensive work with the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media, a “living document” that is revised periodically to respond to the changing dynamics of filmed media
4. Intense role-playing exercises in which the trainees are presented with hypothetical situations that may arise on a set and are challenged to explain how they would ascertain all pertinent facts and resolve the situation
5. How to write comprehensive field reports documenting their on-set observations/interventions

While classroom lectures and role-playing dominate the initial week of training, trainees may also visit special effects labs and animal training compounds for a more comprehensive understanding of key components in the movie industry.
Trainees that demonstrate an aptitude for this very special kind of work continue on as apprentice Safety Representatives. They accompany our seasoned professionals on the set to better understand the dynamics of a production and to start proving their mettle as animal safety advocates. With time, experience, and demonstrated ability, those trainees will join the ranks of American Humane Association’s Certified Animal Safety Representatives.