According to Deadline, a horse died on the set of The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power in the U.K. last week. Amazon Prime Video has released a statement following the unfortunate death, featured below.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died on 21st March. The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals. The trainer was not in costume and filming had yet to commence. Both a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were present at the time. The independent necropsy has confirmed that the horse died of cardiac failure.”
The Devil’s Horsemen, a horse riding school in England, reportedly provides over thirty horses to work on the production of the fantasy series. The company is a new supplier since the franchise moved the filming location from New Zealand to the U.K. after the first season, but has worked for several television and film productions such as Wonder Woman, Justice League, Transformers: The Last Knight, Game Of Thrones, and The Crown, via the company’s website. This is the first known horse death since the company was founded.
The horse, while wearing regalia and a rider on its back, was reportedly standing with approximately twenty other horses and was preparing for a battle scene. While other horses were rehearsing, the horse suddenly experienced cardiac failure, according to The Daily Mail. Following the horse’s collapse, production was halted for about thirty minutes to remove the body.
PETA has jumped in to condemn the incident: “It seems that living underground with the orcs is par for the course for the producers of The Rings of Power, because they have the option to use CGI, mechanical rigs, and other humane methods that wouldn’t run vulnerable horses to death on set. PETA is calling on the show’s creators—and all other producers—to take on a new quest without using any real horses. If they can’t avoid exploiting animals for their art, they should find a new medium, because no one wants to see a spinoff for TV with torment as the theme.”
The statement comes after various other reports of horse fatalities across production sets. A horse collapsed and died last summer during filming of HBO’s The Gilded Age. Additionally, three horses also died on the set of HBO’s Luck. During the making of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, over a dozen animals like horses, goats, and sheep, died of injuries resulting from alleged cruelty and neglect.