Animal rights group PETA will protest across the US this week at openings of the movie A Dog’s Purpose, to rally support for the film’s boycott after footage revealed mistreatment of a dog.
Last week TMZ published leaked behind the scenes footage from the movie which showed a scared German Shepherd, called Hercules, struggling against its handler as it was being forced into churning water to perform a stunt.
Variety reports after the release of the footage PETA called for a boycott of the film, saying the dog was “terrified.”
“As kind people everywhere react to a behind-the-scenes video of a terrified dog who was forced into churning water on the set of ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ as well as footage from a 10-month investigation of the supplier of dogs used for the movie, PETA members will lead a coalition of concerned dog lovers in lively protests across North America on Friday, the film’s opening night,” the organisation said.
Kiwi actor KJ Apa, who makes his big screen debut in the film, released a statement to his social media accounts, after the incident was reported, saying he was “saddened” by the footage and had found it “troubling”.
Apa assured his followers that he “only encountered cast and crew members who had unconditional love and respect for every single dog on set”, but also said that “the possibility that an animal could’ve been hurt is troubling”.
The film’s director Lasse Hallstrom also took to social media to express his shock at the incident, and described what had taken place as “unacceptable”.
“I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is under way and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.”
The film’s star Dennis Quaid has said there was no animal abuse on the set, and believes the footage was edited and doesn’t show the whole story. Photo: Youtube/Universal Pictures
NZME reports the footage has led to the representative from the American Humane Association, who was on set at the time, being fired, as well as the organisation undertaking its own investigation.
The organisation is responsible for the end movie credit which states no animals were harmed during filming.
The movie opens this weekend across the 3,050 locations in the US. It will hit New Zealand screens on April 13.
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