Animals die in the cause of many entertainments. Hunting and fishing obviously, and racing. It does not do to watch what may happen when a horse goes down, or wonder why all the retired greyhounds are not around. But movies? And of all movies, The Hobbit?
The nation recoiled this week at news that horses, goats, hens and a sheep have died in The Hobbit's care. They did not die in battle scenes and other dramatic moments when accidents may happen, they came to grief off duty, on a farm.
Their holding paddocks, according to the whistle-blowing wrangler - is The Hobbit a western? - had bluffs, sinkholes and other "death traps". It sounds like the average farm. Townies had not realised they were so dangerous.
It makes you wonder, how did the equine species survive before man tamed them, fenced the bluffs, filled the sinkholes and built racetracks? Obviously they are safer at the races and, it turns out, they are safer in movie scenes, too.
The American Humane Association monitors animal welfare in movies and it says none were harmed in the filming of The Hobbit. But it cannot vouch for their accommodation and training. Here, clearly, is an opportunity for more local participation in the lucrative project.
