Feds Confirm Ailing Pigs, Dogs Left Out in the Cold at Famous Hollywood Animal Supplier
Inspection Corroborates PETA Exposé of Supplier for A Dog’s Purpose
For Immediate Release:
March 6, 2017
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Following a PETA complaint based on an exposé of Gary Gero’s Birds & Animals Unlimited (BAU)—which has supplied animals for A Dog’s Purpose, among hundreds of other productions—the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected the Acton-based company and cited it for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
According to the January 4 inspection report, which PETA just obtained, the USDA cited the facility for failing to provide two pigs with skin conditions with adequate veterinary care—one of the pigs also suffered from lameness and overgrown hooves. The agency also cited BAU for failing to provide dogs who were left outdoors with insulated bedding when overnight temperatures dropped below 50 degrees.
“The neglect of animals used as film and television props runs rampant throughout the industry, from animals forced into performing frightening stunts to dogs left out in the cold,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA reminds producers that the only humane production is one with no live animals.”
On the heels of PETA’s exposé, BAU was implicated in behind-the-scenes footage that showed a terrified German shepherd being forced into rushing water on the set of A Dog’s Purpose.
Broadcast-quality footage of the exposé is available here, and photographs are available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
