Suffering on ‘Call of the Wildman’ Set Indefensible

For Immediate Release:
March 26, 2014

The suffering that animals—including this coyote, who reportedly was transported in cramped conditions and held for 84 hours while he was sick and in pain—have been forced to endure for the production of Animal Planet’s Call of the Wildman is indefensible. Animals used in film and television are inadequately protected under the law—no one is ever there to monitor abusive training sessions or, in the case of Wildman, the capture of terrified wild animals just to harass them. How many more animals have to suffer before Animal Planet does the right thing and cancels this show, which is contrary to everything that it claims to stand for?

It appears that numerous Kentucky animal-protection laws were violated in the way that this ailing coyote was handled, and PETA is filing a complaint tomorrow with the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. PETA will also file a complaint with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding numerous apparent violations of the federal Lacey Act in the production of this episode of Call of the Wildman and numerous others. In addition, PETA has already filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the City of Houston, and the State of Texas, all of which, we understand, will be investigating the show. Yet despite all the evidence of abuse and the legal violations taking place behind the scenes in this series—and despite hearing from PETA and more than 60,000 of its members and supporters—Animal Planet still has not agreed to cancel this cruel excuse for a show.