The Hobbit director Peter Jackson has amassed plenty of critics following a report that more than two dozen animals died during the New Zealand production of the J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation.
But the film's distributor Warner Bros. Pictures and studio New Line Cinema are sticking by Jackson, issuing a strongly worded statement that supported the director and called into question the motives of his accusers.
"Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema join Peter Jackson and the producers of The Hobbit in vigorously refuting and condemning accusations of animal abuse on the films," the statement reads. "The production acted swiftly and responsibly in addressing any incidents involving animals in its care throughout the long filming process, and in fact, measures were taken to protect all farm animals, including those uninvolved with the films."
Warner's and New Line also said that the accusations stem from animal wranglers who were fired from the production and now presumably wish to tarnish the film just weeks before its Dec. 14 release.
"We question the timing of this misinformation - given The Hobbit's imminent release - and have no recourse other than to reveal that the primary source of these new allegations can be traced to freelance animal wranglers who were dismissed by the production over a year ago for cause," the statement said.
A spokeswoman declined to comment on the firing of the wranglers.
The scandal began when animal-rights group PETA disseminated a report that as many as 27 animals associated with the Hobbit production had died, and that a horse was "hobbled" during the production.
One horse used by the filmmakers was torn up by wire fencing, while another fell to its death while being herded into an overcrowded paddock, PETA charged.
After PETA's report emerged, a spokesman for Jackson acknowledged that some animals, including horses, goats and chickens and a sheep, had died at a farm where the animals used for the film were being housed. However, he said, some of the deaths were the result of natural causes.
Jackson himself slammed PETA's accusation. In a joint statement with the film's producers, Jackson said that the claims had not been properly vetted, and that, after a thorough investigation, no evidence had been found that a horse was hobbled during the making of the film.
