Recent reports are stating that a horse has died during the filming of HBO’s drama series Luck. That alone is bad news, however this is apparently the third horse that’s died during production of the series, which is currently filming its second season.
CBS News reported the story, saying that an injured horse had to be put down on the set of HBO’s Luck after suffering a head injury on Tuesday morning. Apparently the animal was being led to the racetrack stable when it reared and fell back, hurting its head. Two other horses were injured back when the series was filming its first season. Those injuries occurred during racing scenes.
HBO defended its treatment of the animals used in production, saying it's worked with the American Humane Association and racing industry experts to implement safety protocols that exceed film and TV industry standards.
This is certainly disturbing news and one that HBO will hopefully not try to sweep under the carpet. Precautions may have been taken, but three horses are dead and the series hasn’t even finished its first season.
Obviously, PETA is not happy about this. According to TMZ (somewhat disturbing photo warning), the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ rep said, “All the evidence we have gathered points to sloppy oversight, the use of unfit, injured horses, and disregard for the treatment of race horses."
We'll have to wait and see how (and if) this is handled on HBO's part.
