PETA puts his teeth into Amazon for leaked images from season 1 of “The Pack,” an “Amazing Race” style series where dogs and their owners travel and traverse nature together – showing that dogs are in seemingly dangerous situations.
The videos, taken from the raw footage of a challenge from the third episode of the show, show the teams in charge of human dogs descending abseiling down the waterfalls of Los Campesinos, 108 meters away, in Costa Rica. According to a source with knowledge of post-production, the clips were not edited and were shot with a mobile phone from an editing machine, and did not air. The source added that the editor was told to cut these parts to make the scene work.
You can watch both videos below.
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“Video footage of a dog hanging in the air from someone’s harness and paddling in a futile effort to gain a foothold before falling on a rock face shows exactly where the producers’ priorities were for ‘The Pack’, ”PETA told TheWrap in a statement. “It seems that this clip ended up on the floor of the cutting room because the producers knew that the dog was not excited and happy, but anxious. This big dog should be curled up on a couch and not throw himself into one dangerous situation after another in order to value them. No dog would choose to be part of this “package”.
The group also sent a letter to Amazon’s head of unscripted programming, Chris Castallo, in which they claimed that the images “establish exactly why dogs and other real animals do not belong in movies or television.” as well as their safety and well-being is sacrificed for qualifications. “
Representatives from Amazon and Renegade83, which produces the series, did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“The Pack,” hosted by Olympian Lindsey Vonn and her “canine co-host” Lucy, is an “Amazing Race” style travel competition show in which human dog teams face designed challenges. to test the link between humans and animals. Animal safety was an important part of the program’s marketing, as Amazon promoted the team of “accredited veterinarians and certified dog experts” who were present on each leg.
In an interview with Variety before the show’s debut, executive producer Jay Bienstock said those experts had “absolute power” in place. “If the safety of the dogs said, ‘Stop this,’ we would stop. We gave them a pass on everything,” he said.
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The security narrative is also written in the show. In the Costa Rican episode just before the abseiling challenge, Vonn reminded the audience that the dogs and owners had been guided before the start of the season, where teams were trained in various skills, including abseiling.
On camera, a member of the dog safety team also appears on camera to discuss what is about to happen: “What we are looking for are signs or signs of stress: it may be licking, yawn, ”says the person. “We check heart rate before and after. We’ve taken that into account to make sure the dogs are having a good time and are happy.”
Read the full PETA letter:
Dear Chris,
We were alerted to this video of a senior dog hanging from someone’s harness and paddling in a futile effort to gain his footing before falling into a rock, evidently during the filming of “The Pack”.
Nothing about this dog says “happy to be here.” He seems worried and being tied to a climber climbing a rock wall would obviously be terrifying for animals, rather than a “fun and exciting” way to “celebrate their amazing bond” with humans. The incident sets out exactly why dogs and other real animals do not belong in movies or television, as well as how their safety and welfare are sacrificed for valuations.
We hope to know that Amazon will find out why this situation was allowed to occur and put in place measures to ensure that nothing new happens for future programming.
Can we hear you right away? Thank you for your immediate attention to this important matter.
Yours faithfully,
Lauren Thomasson
Senior Manager | Animals in film and television
People for the ethical treatment of animals (PETA)
Diane Haithman contributed to this story.