PETA, the American-based animal rights charity, has called on The Lord of the Rings to stop using real animals following the death of a horse.

Sadly, it’s been reported by Deadline (thanks TheGamer), that a horse died of cardiac arrest while on set last week for Amazon Studios’ production, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

In a statement provided to Deadline by an Amazon Studios spokesperson, they said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died on 21st March. The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals.

“The trainer was not in costume and filming had yet to commence. Both a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were present at the time. The independent necropsy has confirmed that the horse died of cardiac failure.”

It’s absolutely tragic when any animal dies, but it seems that the horse that died on set prior to filming was of natural causes, at least judging by the statement above.

What’s more, the horse was provided by The Devil’s Horsemen, a well-known company that has provided horses for movie and TV productions for decades. It is claimed that this is the first animal death in the company’s 50-year history.

However, despite this apparent rare tragedy, PETA has called for those in charge of The Rings of Power to stop using real horses and instead use CGI.

To be fair, whatever we may or may not think of PETA, in this day and age of wonderful technology, The Rings of Power could probably get away with using CGI horses and most would probably never notice. Especially for a series, in which the first season reportedly had a $1 billion budget.

Over the years, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has not only stirred the pot in the world of TV and film but also video games too.

In November 2022, the charity organisation slammed God of War Ragnarok for its violence against animals and in March 2022, it used Elden Ring to tell players to go Vegan.