PETA shows its teeth at Amazon over leaked footage from Season 1 of “The Pack” – an “Amazing Race” style show where dogs and their owners roam nature together showing the dogs getting into seemingly dangerous situations.
The videos, taken from raw footage of a challenge in the show’s third episode, feature dedicated human-dog teams rappelling Costa Rica’s 100-foot Los Campesinos Falls. The clips are unedited and, according to a source with knowledge of post-production, were recorded with a mobile phone from an editing machine and not broadcast. The source added that the editor was told to cut these parts to make the scene work.
You can watch the two videos below.
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Video footage of a dog dangling in mid-air from someone’s harness and paddling in a vain attempt to gain a foothold before being hurled into a rock face shows exactly where the producers’ priorities were for ‘The Pack’, PETA told TheWrap in a statement. “It seems this clip ended up on the cutting room floor because producers knew the dog was not enthusiastic and happy, but sad. This older dog should be curled up on a sofa and not thrown into one dangerous situation after another for the sake of the reviews. No dog would choose to be part of this ‘pack’. “
The group also sent a letter to Chris Castallo, Amazon’s head of non-scripted programming, saying the footage “ shows exactly why real dogs and other animals don’t belong in movies or on TV, as well as the way their safety and well-being is sacrificed for assessments. “
Representatives for Amazon – and Renegade83, which produces the series – did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Hosted by Olympian Lindsey Vonn and her canine co-host Lucy, “The Pack” is an “Amazing Race” style travel competition show where human-dog teams face challenges designed to strengthen the bond between humans and animals. to test. Animal safety was a key part of the show’s marketing, with Amazon praising the team of “accredited veterinarians and certified canine experts” who attended every paw.
In an interview with Variety prior to the show’s debut, executive producer Jay Bienstock said those pundits had “absolute power” on the spot. If the dog’s safety said, ‘Stop this,’ we would stop. We passed them everywhere, ”he said.
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The safety story has also been written into the show. In the Costa Rica episode just before the rappelling challenge, Vonn reminded the audience that the dogs and owners had undergone an “orientation” prior to the start of the season, where the teams were trained in a variety of skills, including rappelling.
A member of the on-screen “dog safety team” also appears in front of the camera to discuss what’s going to happen: “What we’re looking for are signs or signals of stress – it could be licking, it might yawn,” the person says. “We check their heart rates before and after, we have taken everything into consideration to make sure the dogs are having a good time and that they are happy.”
Read the full letter from PETA:
Dear Chris,
We were warned about this video of an elderly dog dangling from someone’s harness and paddling in a vain attempt to gain a foothold before being hurled into a rock face, apparently during the filming of “The Pack.”
Nothing about this dog says “happy to be here”. He seems concerned, and being attached to a climber climbing a rock face would clearly be terrifying to animals, rather than a “fun and exciting” way to “celebrate their incredible bond” with humans. The incident establishes exactly why real dogs and other animals don’t belong in movies or on TV, and how their safety and well-being are sacrificed for ratings.
We hope to hear that Amazon finds out why this situation occurred and is taking steps to ensure that nothing happens in future programming.
May we hear from you right away? Thank you for your immediate attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Lauren Thomasson
Senior Manager | Animals in film and television
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Diane Haithman contributed to this story.