A national animal welfare group has filed a complaint with Manitoba authorities after a video surfaced online which appears to show a dog being forced into churning water during the production of soon-to-be released film A Dog's Purpose.
The video was allegedly shot on the film's Winnipeg set in November 2015. It appears to show film crew forcing a German shepherd dog into turbulent water in a pool. The dog is seen resisting entering the water and clawing at the edges of the pool.
Later in the footage, the dog is shown in the water before being submerged, at which point a voice can be heard yelling "Cut it," and crew members swim towards the dog.
The film stars Dennis Quaid and is set for release on Jan. 27. It follows the many lives of a reincarnated dog and was directed by Lasse Hallstrom, who has previously said he's a vegan.
A press release from the group Animal Justice calls the behaviour in the video "blatant animal cruelty."
The group is calling on the public to boycott the film, and others that use real animals.
"What we're seeing here is an animal who's terrified," said Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice.
"This German shepherd clearly does not want to go into the water, fears it, is not happy, is distressed, is anxious. In the view of the lawyers who work on this issue, that is illegal animal cruelty, and that's what really means that the filmmakers should be charged."
Labchuk said Animal Justice has filed a formal complaint with the province's Chief Veterinary Office. She said she was told the office would investigate the issue and forward the matter to police if necessary.
"There's no exemption, there's no loophole that lets Hollywood filmmakers get away with inflicting distress on animals, and they should face the consequences of the law," Labchuk said.
A spokeswoman from the Chief Veterinary Office confirmed the province had received a complaint regarding a movie shot in the province on Wednesday afternoon, but could not provide any further information.
She said the office was not involved with, or consulted on, the film.
CBC has reached out to Amblin Partners, one of the studios behind the film, for comment.
Humane Society not consulted for scene
In a written statement, Winnipeg Humane Society CEO Javier Schwersensky said filmmakers consulted the Humane Society about two scenes in the film, but not the one shown in the footage.
"We understand there was an observer on the set of this film who was there to advocate on behalf of the dogs. All animals on a film set should have a qualified person who is there to protect their best interests," Schwersenky said in the statement.
Schwersensky said training for a scene like the one shown in the video should take place weeks or months ahead of time to help the dog get comfortable with the depth and turbulence of the water and ensure the animal won't suffer consequences from the potentially traumatic experience.
"This dog was fearful and not properly trained for this experience," Schwersensky said. "As well, there was no safe exit point for the dog to escape the turbulent water."
A spokesman for the Humane Society said the society was not aware of the video or the abuse until Wednesday.
Animal rights group files complaint to province over 'blatant animal cruelty' on A Dog's Purpose film set
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