‘The Hobbit’ Set Horror Revealed as 27 Animals Died, Including a Tiny Pony

Around 27 animals reportedly lost their lives at a farm in New Zealand while being kept for the filming of The Hobbit trilogy. According to reports from the Associated Press and the Mirror, several animal wranglers who worked on the project came forward to say the living conditions were a nightmare.

One horse trainer named Chris Langridge called the farm a death trap. He said the land was full of broken fences, steep cliffs, and hidden sinkholes. He tried to fix some of the problems himself, but he said the task was just too big. According to Langridge, horses need flat ground because they can run up to 30 miles per hour, making the bumpy terrain very dangerous.

The first animal to die was a small pony named Rainbow. Langridge said he found the pony alive one morning, but its back was broken after it fell off a steep bank. The poor animal had to be put down. Not long after that, another horse named Doofus got stuck in a fence and cut its leg badly. Langridge decided to quit his job after that happened.

Another handler, Johnny Smythe, shared more sad stories. He found a horse named Claire dead in a stream with its head underwater after it fell over a bluff. Later, a horse named Zeppelin died in the stables. While official records say Zeppelin died of natural causes, Smythe thinks the horse got sick from the new food it was given.

Smythe also said he had to bury six goats and six sheep. He claimed they died from falling into holes, getting worms, or having stomach issues from their feed. He also mentioned that dogs killed about a dozen chickens because they weren’t being watched properly. Smythe lost his job in 2011 after he got into an argument with his boss about how the animals were being treated.

A spokesperson for director Peter Jackson named Matt Dravitzki talked about the situation. He said they knew about the deaths and agreed that the deaths of two horses could have been avoided. He explained that once they realized there were problems, they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the stables and fences better.

Dravitzki also mentioned that Peter Jackson even adopted three of the pigs from the movie to give them a good home. The American Humane Association, which checks on animal safety for movies, said no animals were actually hurt while the cameras were rolling. However, they did admit that their rules mainly cover the movie set and not the farms where animals live between scenes.

What do you think about the responsibility movie productions have for their animals even when the cameras aren’t turned on in the comments?