PETA condemns death of horse on set of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

A horse involved in the production of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power recently died on the set of the series in the UK. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the horse passed away on March 21 due to cardiac arrest.

Sharing the unfortunate news, Amazon Studios released a statement that read, “We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse has died. The incident happened in the morning while the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals.” The trainer was not in costume and filming had not yet begun. A veterinarian and a representative from the American Humane Association were both present at the time. An independent necropsy has confirmed that the horse died of heart failure.

The horse was one of around 30 on set that day, all supplied by The Devil’s Horsemen, a respected organization that has provided horses for a number of shows including Game of Thrones.

Apparently the first animal death in the company’s 50-year history, the horse is said to have shown no health problems before and was standing among 20 other horses before it died.

Animal rights organization PETA has condemned the death of the horse. Organized urged the studio to “stop dominating the animals”.

“It seems living underground with the orcs is par for the course for The Rings of Power producers as they have the option of using CGI, mechanical rigs and other humane methods that won’t starve vulnerable ghouls to death on set.” said Senior Vice President Lisa Lang. “PETA is calling on the show’s producers – and all other producers – to innovate without using any real horses. If they can’t avoid exploiting animals for their art, they need to find a new medium.” must be explored, because nobody wants to see a spinoff for TV with suffering as a theme.”

The Rings of Power has been filming its second season in the UK for months and has announced that several new cast members are joining the series. The first season’s eight episodes were released last spring and became the streamer’s most-watched original series, with more than 24 billion minutes streamed.