Post-Production

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  Help Us Continue Our Mission

  
  

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  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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  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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  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. Prior to 1980, American Humane Association listed 107 films as Unacceptable because of deliberate neglect or malice toward animals. From 1980 to 1988, when our Guidelines debuted, 31 films were found Unacceptable. Since 1988, only 16 films have received that ignoble distinction.
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Eligibility for the ‘No Animals Were Harmed’® Certification

Once principal photography on a production is completed, American Humane Association’s Film & TV Unit must screen the finished product prior to its release in order for it to qualify for our end-credit certification/sign-off letter and/or our rating. This screening step is necessary to substantiate the animal action depicted in the final cut as that which was monitored by our Certified Animal Safety Representatives™ during production. By substantiating the action — and how it was accomplished — we can award and stand behind our “No Animals Were Harmed”® end credit or sign-off and, if necessary, defend a production from erroneous criticism.

Feature Films
If American Humane Association has been on set to monitor the animal action in a film production and, if after screening the film, we determine that the production is eligible for our end-credit certification, we will issue an official disclaimer. Productions may then include the exact language of the disclaimer and the official logo in their credit crawl. For every monitored film* production, American Humane Association posts a review and rating on our website explaining how the animal action was accomplished, to inform the public. This enables our staff to respond to public inquiry throughout the entire life of a project.

Commercials/Music Videos
If American Humane Association monitors the animal action on a SAG and/or AFTRA domestic production and if, after screening the spot, it is determined that the production is eligible for our sign-off letter, we issue an official letter.

If American Humane Association is unable to monitor any SAG and/or AFTRA domestic production — through no fault of the production — that production may** be eligible for a “Not Monitored: Production Compliant” letter and/or rating, as long as the production has remained compliant throughout the entire process, from registering to submitting a screening. If a production is non-union or international, then a different set of rules applies, since the monitoring process involves a contract and a fee for our services.

Please contact our Film & TV Unit’s Post-Production Department as soon as your project is ready for American Humane Association to screen the locked picture. You may arrange a screening at your facilities, or submit a confidential DVD or online preview.

The American Humane Association logo and registered disclaimer language is tracked via a unique code and cannot be transferred to any other production. Also, productions must refrain from using any wording that addresses the treatment of the animals if American Humane Association did not monitor the production, as this could be considered in violation of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1996, as well as other applicable U.S. trademark laws.

*Student films and short films will be listed, but not reviewed, on our website.

**Each production is unique; therefore, our Post-Production Department makes all decisions on a case-by-case basis.