Well, the subject really says it all - I was watching and it struck me that they do a lot of heavy duty work on the animals in the show - stitching up dogs and whatnot. So I was wondering if they took precautions back when the show was made. It was a long time ago, I don't know if they had as strict rules about animals as they do now. Anyone?
shareWhat I've gleaned from interviews, articles, etc. is that they took very good care of the animals (Alf Wight would have insisted upon it!). When they needed to film about a certain type of injury or illness, they would look for an animal who needed the treatment or operation so that they could perform a service for an animal that actually needed it. The "real" vets, of course, performed these operations.
shareI would like to know how this posty got up here. Every big screen movie I have ever seen with animals in important scenes shows a disclaimer at the end "no animals were harmed in the making of this picture". This is a series that ran over a 12 year span of 7 series of 10 to 14 hour long episodes plus 3 90 minute specials, is still rerun in some markets today, and has been released completely on video in 2 countries. If they had harmed any animals, the series would not have lasted this long except as a bad memory. If I worked for BBC, I would personally have looked for a way to contact IMDB and express the fact that speaking for the network that I was insulted? For now I will simply say, "Were any animals harmed during the show?" "Is ms dos still a popular operating system?"
shareYou don't have to be rude - I was just asking a question.
shareI know you were, and I apologize if I came across badly, but I believe it is against the law to harm animals in a movie or tv show. If it does happen, 5 will get you 10 that the show/movie will not be shown to the public.
shareSo did Robert Hardy and Timothy Christopher ACTUALLY stick their hands and arms up the rear ends of cows and sheep? Did they actually help ewes and cows give birth?
shareYes, and Peter Davison too. I've heard them speak about it in interviews.
WOW!
I am a star!
I don't know about the animals but I noticed the actor playing James Herriot get hurt. They had a bull which was released from a chute. I don't remember if they were giving injections or maybe drenching for tickes but the animal hooked a horn around his lower leg as it came out and threw him. He said angrily. "I told you that would happen." It sounded like genuine anger. For the next several shows he limped on a cane.
It's like rodeos. People worry about the bulls and bucking horses but they buy ones that are unmanageable that would usually be killed. Instead they are pampered. Its the cowboys who get gored, trampled, their face stepped on or fall and get their ribs broken.
I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else