The link:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_370b.html
Cecil mentions the American Humane Association’s “unacceptable” list for films that have abused animals in their production. What response do they have to such films other than labelling them? Can they get distributors not to carry them?
Also, what kind of response do the Teeming Millions deem appropriate?
On one hand, since most studios seem to take it seriously, there is probably sufficient bad publicity that comes with an AHA “unacceptable” rating that they’d just as soon avoid it.
On the other hand, if you leaf through their reviews, you can find a few big budget movies that got rated “unacceptable”, and I don’t remember their distribution actually getting affected. In the “a” part of the list, we have “The Abyss” and “Apocalypse Now”, for instance. It didn’t interfere with Academy Award nominations either.
Please note that Cecil’s column was written in 1976. I suspect that there has been a great deal of progress in animal rights since then, and that the penalties for abuse are much heavier now.
I don’t know statute from all 50 states but here in Virginia we have certain animal cruelty laws. You can’t be egregriously cruel to an animal, and you cannot wantonly kill an animal. There was a man who went to prison for some 45 years recently because he had been poisoning dogs, each dog carried like a maximum of a 1.5 year sentence and he got the book thrown at him.
I seem to recall (though I couldn’t find a link) that, during the filming of The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise personally invited the American Humane Association to come to the set to see how the horses were being treated. (I suspect that communications between the AHA and film studios, when it comes to arranging a set tour, can be difficult.)
That said, here’s the AHA’s review of The Last Samurai.
Anyhoo…
When I was taking a course in animal wrangling for film through my zoo (Which I’ll be re-starting/continuing in July) I was taught that the SPCA has definate guidelines. One thing I remember in particular is that an animal may not be killed for a movie. I know accidents do happen and I suppose a determined and unscrupless director might try to pass a scene off as “unfortunate and unavoidable” but I don’t know if it would make the final cut. There are some fairly stiff fines out there. I’ve heard of quite a few people doing time for animal cruelty too.
So, what do they do? Well, there are some amazing people working with models and prothetics out there. My boss pulled off a good one at a pet fair a couple
months ago.
His friend Charlie had made a fake white mouse for a movie. It was supposed to be lying in a small cage, dying. The body is made of latex, covered in rabbit fur and it’s got a little balloon inside it that’s attached to a hose and squeeze ball. You can make it “breathe” very effectively. (I should know - the boss totally suckered me with it and I raise all the mice at work! :smack: )
Anyway, the boss took it along to the pet fair and waited until he saw an SPCA officer he knew. When she got to the table, he pointed out the mouse and commented tha it wasn’t looking so good. Of course it was on it’s side, gasping pitifully.
Well, she freaked! She told him that if he didn’t get that poor animal out of sight RIGHT NOW she would have him charged, banned from the fair, etc etc.
Then she saw the squeezeball in his hand…
Did I mention my boss can be a smartass at times? 
That’s an example of just how realistic something can look when it’s done by a professional.