As the world premiere of the epic fantasy trilogy "The Hobbit" unfolds in New Zealand, allegations of animal abuse plague the production.
Animal wranglers who worked on the production have come forward saying that as many as 27 animals died due to negligence and poor housing conditions.
Three horses died during production, and animal handlers say six goats, six sheep and a dozen chickens were also killed.
A spokesperson for director Peter Jackson acknowledged that the horses died, but said he only knew of the deaths of three goats, one sheep and eight chickens.
Spokesperson Matt Dravitzki said the production company changed its procedures and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrading fencing and housing after the first two horses died. "We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn't happen again," he said.
The fields where the animals were kept was riddled with sinkholes, said animal wranglers.
The first horse, a miniature set to portray a hobbit horse broke his back after a bad fall and had to be euthanized.
Another horse drowned in a stream after it fell off a high hill.
A third horse died in the stables from a burst blood vessel. No autopsy was performed, but wranglers say the horse had digestion problems from new feed.
They also say that the six goats and six sheep died after falling into sinkholes or contracting worms.
They also say a dozen chickens were mauled by dogs.
Dravitzki admitted that two goats died from exposure to the cold, but claimed the sheep and one goat had died of old age or natural causes. He said the chicken maulings were an accident caused by careless oversight by staff assigned to the dogs.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protested the world premiere on Wednesday, with demonstrators holding signs with slogans like "3 horses died for this film" and "The Hobbit: Unexpected Cruelty."
Dorector Peter Jackson denied the allegations. "No mistreatment, no abuse," he said. "Absolutely none."
"At the end of the day we've made a movie we're extremely proud of. So many people have worked for so long, it will take a bit more than that to spoil the event. You have got a very radical, political organization that has jumped on this and personally it's an insult to anyone who worked on the film. We care about what we do, we care about all the animals."
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