Alleged Horse Death on Set of HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ Prompts PETA Probe

For Immediate Release:
July 7, 2022

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Following three whistleblower reports that a horse recently died on the set of the television series The Gilded Age, PETA is calling on HBO to conduct an internal investigation immediately and refrain from using equines in any future productions.

The horse—described by a whistleblower as 23 years old with possible health issues—reportedly died last week during filming in Nassau County. PETA was told that the animal sustained head trauma and was seen frothing at the mouth. The group notes that HBO has a history of equine deaths on set—notably during production of the television series Luck, which was canceled after PETA revealed that three horses had died. Many of the horses were unfit, arthritic, pushed beyond their capacity, and not accustomed to TV sets. 

“If it weren’t for these whistleblowers, the apparent death of this vulnerable horse would likely have been swept under the rug,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA is reminding HBO that watchful, compassionate people can be found on every set and is urging it to stop using horses before someone else dies in its productions.”

The letter to HBO Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys is available here.

PETA urges anyone who witnesses animals being used for film or television productions to report it at PETA.org/Report or contact PETA on its confidential whistleblower hotline at 323-210-2233.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.