Film and television production using live animals carries welfare risks from training methods, stress of production environments, and conditions during filming, despite American Humane oversight in the USA.
Animal welfare on film sets exists in a paradox: visible public oversight through American Humane certification, but persistent welfare failures that the certification system has not prevented. The Hobbit deaths, involving animals housed off-set without oversight, revealed the limits of a certification that monitors only during filming. Exotic animals used in international productions, advertising, and social media content face even less oversight. The most welfare-positive direction for the industry is increased use of CGI and animatronic alternatives that have become highly convincing, combined with stronger mandatory welfare standards for productions that continue to use live animals.