Hollywood Kills Giraffe
That’s what PETA is saying, anyway. Boston Herald:
A giraffe in the new filmed-in-Boston Kevin James comedy “Zookeeper” dropped dead less than a day after wrapping up his final scene, and animal rights activists charge it was the stressful Hollywood life that felled the gentle giant before his time.
Tweet, an 18-year-old male giraffe who appeared in “Ace Ventura,” “Evan Almighty,” and a flock of “Toys R Us” ads, collapsed in his pen while being fed Friday and died.
Giraffes can live into their late 20s, according to the Smithsonian Institute. While the results of a necropsy have not been released, PETA believes Tweet should be alive today.
“It’s an outrage,” said Lisa Wathne, a spokeswoman for animal rights group PETA. “I don’t think anyone should be surprised.”
But Wathne said giraffes are too skittish to deal with the rigors of a Hollywood production, and suggested Tweet likely succumbed to the stress of performing on the movie set at Franklin Park Zoo.
“It’s fair to say they put his life in danger,” Wathne said. “They all share the blame.”
Tweet, who was not a Franklin Park Zoo animal, was a film veteran sharing the silver screen with Adam Sandler, Rosario Dawson, Sylvester Stallone, and Cher, who dubbed Tweet’s voice.
I dunno, sounds like the giraffe knew his way around the backlot. Can being in a movie with Kevin James, let alone Sylvester Stallone and Cher, be that much worse than being chased by lions?
Topics: different, do-goodism
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, September 15, 2009
4 Responses to “Hollywood Kills Giraffe”
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September 15th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Did the giraffe drink beer?
September 15th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Animals die, and sometimes you don’t even know there’s anything wrong until it’s too late. Like humans, they don’t always live out their average lifespans. PETA obviously jumped on this event for the publicity.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
A good-sized giraffe can dress out to anywhere from 80 to 120 pounds of good meat, so there’s really no downside for the owner.
Mmm. Giraffe. It’s what’s for breakfast.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Dinner. I meant dinner. Nobody eats giraffe for breakfast here.
(Which, parenthetically, is a shame. Ever have nine-foot-long bacon?)