Behind the Scenes of
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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On the Set
Did you know?
- Johnny Depp works well with pigs.
- Geoffrey Rush has a real way with monkeys.
- You can’t take a poisonous snake to Honolulu.
Beth Langhorst knows all this, because she has served as Senior Certified Animal Safety Representative on the set of all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies — including the latest, “On Stranger Tides.” Since the Pirates film series began in 2003, Langhorst has monitored hundreds of animals on its sets. The 14-year Animal Safety Rep veteran can say, with certainty, that “No Animals Were Harmed”® on the sets of these Walt Disney films.
“Everything that looks dangerous in the film was done as safely as possible,” Langhorst said.
Weather matters
The filming of “On Stranger Tides” lasted about six months and took the crew to London, Hawaii and Puerto Rico to capture Captain Jack Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) adventures. The on-set weather involved everything from cold, boggy gloom to tropical jungle swelter. To help ensure the comfort of the horses used on set — about 70 in total — the producers used three different groups of horses, each native to the climate of the filming locale.
Aloha CGI
Hawaii prohibits venomous reptiles on its islands, and those in its zoos are not allowed to leave — plus, Johnny Depp would probably rather not hold a poisonous snake. So, the producers used computer-generated imagery for all the frog and snake scenes in the movie.
Some Pig
One of Langhorst’s favorite animals to work with on the set was the pig, who started out a little wild but soon got used to working for food rewards and belly scratches.
“He was a great little pig,” she said. “By week four, we had turned him into a star.”
Fifth movie?
Sorry, we can’t tell you — but if there is another Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Langhorst will be there on the set protecting animals.
