Sorry tale of a tiger exposes Life of Pi cruelty claims
The American Humane Association has been accused of negligence in its role of monitoring animal welfare↲ on movie sets.
Near death experience for Life of Pi tiger
Are animals in film really protected? A new report highlights the shocking tales of deaths and accidents in recent popular films containing actors of the four-legged variety.
The tiger used in the hit movie Life of Pi nearly drowned in an on-set accident that was subsequently covered up↲ by the American Humane Association, according to new allegations.
We almost f—ing killed King in the water tank.
”Last week we almost f—ing killed King in the water tank,” association monitor Gina Johnson wrote in an email. ”This one take↲ with him went really bad and he got lost trying to swim to the side. Damn near drowned.”↲

”We almost killed King in the water tank”: The tiger from Life of Pi
The revelations come in an extensive investigation of the treatment of animals in the film industry published by The Hollywood Reporter
Johnson then went on to↲ try to cover up the incident.
”I think this goes without saying but don’t mention it to anyone, especially the office!” she said in an email obtained by the industry magazine. ”I have downplayed↲ the f— out of it.”
The association is the body that awards the coveted ”No animals were harmed in the making of this film” tag to movies. However, the investigation alleges the AHA is often complicit↲ in the abuse of animals, preferring to keep powerful producers onside rather than report problems.
The investigation highlights a series of alleged failings by the association that resulted in animal injuries or deaths.
In last year’s Peter Jackson blockbuster, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , 27 sheep and goats also reportedly died when they were left unmonitored during a break in filming.
The association responded that it had jurisdiction over animals only while filming was in progress.
Other internal association documents revealed a dog was repeatedly punched in its diaphragm on the set of the Disney film Eight Below after the dogs got into a fight, and a chipmunk was dropped and fatally squashed in the 2006 Sarah Jessica Parker comedy Failure to Launch
In another incident that was widely reported at the time, two horses died on the set of the film Flicka in 2005.
The deaths were ruled to be↲ accidents but, while the ”no animals were harmed” tag was withheld↲, a credit that said ”American Humane Association monitored the animal action” still ran.
Overall, it was alleged the AHA ”distorts its film ratings, downplays or fails to publicly acknowledge harmful incidents and sometimes doesn’t seriously pursue investigations”.↲ In a statement responding to the allegations the society said the picture painted by The Hollywood Reporter of systematic cover-ups↲ was ”completely unrecognisable”.
”Regrettably, there have even been some deaths, which upset us greatly, but in many of the cases reported, they had nothing to do with↲ the animals’ treatment on set, or occurred when the animals were not under our care,” it said.
Continue reading…
Key Terms…
- role ↔ papel
- welfare ↔ bem-estar ↲
- movie sets ↔ sets de filmagem
- Near death experience ↔ Experiência de quase morte
- highlights ↔ destaca
- four-legged ↔ quatro patas
- hit movie ↔ filme de sucesso
- nearly drowned ↔ quase se afogou
- covered up ↔ encoberto ↲
- ”This one take ↔ Havia uma tomada ↲
- Damn near drowned.” ↔ quase afougou ↲
- went on to ↔ passou a ↲
- downplayed ↔ minimizado ↲
- The association is the body that awards ↔ A associação é a entidade que concede
- coveted ↔ cobiçado
- tag ↔ selo
- complicit ↔ cúmplice ↲
- preferring ↔ preferindo
- onside ↔ numa posição legal
- blockbuster ↔ sucesso
- sheep and goats ↔ ovelhas e cabritos
- were left ↔ foram deixados
- break ↔ pausa
- jurisdiction over ↔ jurisdição sobre
- in progress ↔ em andamento
- a dog was repeatedly punched in its diaphragm ↔ um cachorro foi esmurrado repetidamente no seu diafragma
- Eight Below ↔ Resgate Abaixo de Zero
- a chipmunk was dropped and fatally squashed ↔ um esquilo foi derrubado, espatifando-se
- Failure to Launch ↔ Armações do Amor
- widely reported ↔ amplamente divulgado
- ruled to be ↔ julgadas ↲
- withheld ↔ retido ↲
- still ran ↔ ainda foi divulgado
- Overall ↔ No geral
- ratings ↔ classificações
- publicly acknowledge ↔ reconhecer publicamente
- pursue investigations”. ↔ conduzir as investigações ↲
- cover-ups ↔ disfarces ↲
- unrecognisable ↔ irreconhecível
- Regrettably ↔ Lamentavelmente
- which upset us greatly ↔ que nos perturba grandemente
- nothing to do with ↔ nada a ver com ↲
- under our care,” ↔ sob nossos cuidados
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I think Democrats are reluctant to admit any fault with social welfare programs. | ![]() |
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Just how to remove the concrete that covered up compacted soil was a conundrum. ↔Assim como remover o concreto que cobria o solo compactado era um enigma. | ![]() |
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OK, everybody. This is going to be our fifth take. Let’s get it right now. Action! ↔O.k., pessoal. Esta será nossa quinta tomada. Vamos acertar desta vez. Ação! | ![]() |
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Have you noticed lately that it’s damn near impossible to find a decent meal on 4th street? | ![]() |
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If someone had told me a few days ago that Beka would become a Flash addict, overdose and damn near kill us all, I’d have told them they were nuts. | ![]() |
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… the bullets would harmlessly ricochet off of their bodies, it took more than five soldiers to bring just one down, and damn near 600 bullets just to take em’ down! | ![]() |
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Damn Near Impossible ↔Quase impossível | ![]() |
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Mother: did you know I could sing ‘oh come all ye faithful’ in Latin?’ She then went on to sing it – in Latin! | ![]() |
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The World Bank has identified but downplayed some key issues on gender equality. ↔O Banco Mundial identificou mas minimizou algumas questões-chave sobre a igualdade de gênero. | ![]() |
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Let us therefore be prudent, rather than naive or complicit in a further genocide. ↔Sejamos prudentes, então, e não ingénuos ou cúmplices de um novo genocídio. | ![]() |
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The shooting was ruled to be justified, though the details remain vague. | ![]() |
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The pilot’s identity is withheld pending the notification of his family members. ↔A identidade do piloto é mantida em segredo enquanto se aguarda a notificação de seus familiares. | ![]() |
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Every month part of her salary was withheld and placed into her CalStrs account. ↔Todo mês parte de seu salário era retida e depositada na sua conta da CalSTRS (previdenciária). | ![]() |
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The detectives pursued him. ↔Os detetives o perseguiram. | ![]() |
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evidence of a coverup ↔evidência de um encobrimento | ![]() |