Video (from 2005)
http://vimeo.com/23404112
Water for Elephants, a romantic drama set in a 1930s animal circus in the USA, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, is premiering all over the world this month, with the London Premier last Tuesday. But the biggest star of the film is 42-year-old Asian elephant Tai, who plays Rosie, supplied by the performing animal supplier Have Trunk Will Travel, of California.
In the film Rosie, played by Tai, is brutally attacked by the circus owner who beats her with a bull hook.
But the producers, stars, and trainers have been at pains to stress that Tai was trained with kindness, marshmallows, and positive reinforcement.
Gary Johnson, a founder of Have Trunk Will Travel claimed: “Tai was never hit in any way at all”.
American Humane observed the animal action during filming and said: “We’re here observing prep on Water for Elephants and so we’re here to make sure that everybody knows that not only the action on set but also the prep is humanely done, all these animals have been treated fairly and humanely throughout the entire course of their training.”
Jan Creamer, Chief Executive of ADI said: “We were uncomfortable with the message of this film, but the more we saw the repeated assertions that this elephant has been treated with love and affection and never been abused, we realized that we had to get the truth out. The public, the stars and the filmmakers have been duped. This poor elephant was trained to do the very tricks you see in the film by being given electric shocks.”
Kari Johnson, another of the founders of Have Trunk Will Travel has previously stated: “Have Trunk Will Travel has never issued a written endorsement, nor does it condone using electrical devices to discipline and control elephants except in situations where elephant or human safety is at risk.
Official statement from Have Trunk Will Travel
We are unwavering in our commitment to elephants. We stand by our care and training methods. We are proud of our contributions to elephant welfare and conservation.
Animal rights extremist groups are using Tai’s role in Water for Elephants as a vehicle to take advantage of her celebrity to further their efforts to remove elephants and all exotic animals from entertainment. These groups have no basis of knowledge or experience working with elephants. They have an agenda and a history of using less than honest means to achieve their goals.
The video shows heavily edited and very short snippets, obviously taken surreptitiously six years ago, purporting mistreatment of our elephants. If there was truly any abuse going on why wait six minutes, much less six years?
None of the footage being shown was taken during Tai’s training for Water for Elephants. Tai’s celebrity and the popularity of the movie seem to be the motivation for the extremist groups to garner publicity for themselves and their cause. As our work in the movie proves you can make something look like anything to suit your purposes. That is why they call it “movie magic”.
Rest assured that we will continue to provide Tai and all of our elephants with the love and excellent care they deserve.
Statement from Fox
We apologize for the delay in response regarding this disturbing video being circulated. We were caught off guard by this and want to get to the bottom of it. This is going to take a few posts so stick with us...
Fox and the filmmakers are disturbed and saddened by the video being circulated that purportedly shows Tai being mistreated. We are strongly opposed to violence against animals and were not aware of any mistreatment of the animals in this movie. We have learned that the video was taken in 2005, long before the movie was in production.None of the animals in the movie were taught any new “tricks” for the film. A representative from the American Humane Association was on set and monitored every instance in which animals were used and can confirm that no animals, including Tai, were mistreated in any way during filming. However please know that associated with the movie or not, we are not okay with any form of animal abuse.
Apologies if this was posted already
What do you guys think? Do you believe them? They claim they've never hurt him, but there's a video...
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