Horse’s Death on Set of The Gilded Age Prompts PETA’s Ads: See Something? Say Something!

For Immediate Release:
August 14, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Filming of the HBO period drama The Gilded Age is underway, so PETA is urging the cast, crew, and local fans to stay vigilant and report any instances of animal abuse on set. The group is flooding the filming locations of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy with print ads, radio spots, and flyers urging anyone who sees anything of concern involving animals to report it by calling the group’s film and television whistleblower hotline at 323-210-2233 or visiting PETA.org/report. The appeals come after a horse collapsed and died while pulling a carriage on the set of The Gilded Age for season two in 2022. Whistleblower reports from the set alleged that horses were denied water and adequate breaks while being forced to work long hours in 90- to 100-degree heat.

“Horses used in film and TV are often forced to work to exhaustion in stressful conditions, which makes them especially vulnerable to injury or even death,” says PETA Director of Animals in Film and Television Lauren Thomasson. “PETA urges anyone who witnesses animal abuse or sees anything of concern on set to report it. If HBO can use special effects to make the Targaryens look as if they’re riding dragons, it can surely do the same for women wearing petticoats in horse-drawn carriages.”

PETA notes that horses have been injured and killed during multiple productions, including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Flicka, American Outlaws, Simpatico, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, War Horse, and HBO’s Luck. PETA and law-enforcement investigations into animal suppliers for the film and television industries have documented that animals are often whipped, virtually starved for roles, denied adequate veterinary care, and housed in deplorable conditions.

PETA’s print ads are appearing in The Record in Troy and The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, and its 30-second radio spot is running on local stations, including WGNA, WYJB, WFLY, and WPYX. Its flyers are posted at local coffee shops, cafés, bookstores, libraries, and grocery stores as well as on the SUNY Schenectady campus.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.