‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ Set Used Caged Animals—PETA Sends Urgent Appeal to Naturalist Author

For Immediate Release:
June 23, 2021

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Armed with state documents and photos indicating that dozens of caged animals were needlessly stressed and trucked in from as far away as California for the currently filming adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing, PETA sent a letter this morning to the book’s author, conservationist Delia Owens, urging her to use her influence to help prevent the further exploitation of wild animals.

“Where the Crawdads Sing has inspired millions of readers to appreciate and respect nature, but the photos of a skunk and other animals caged for the movie paint a completely different picture,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA is certain that a heralded conservation advocate like Delia Owens won’t stand idly by and let filmmakers continue to exploit wild animals in order to tell her story.”

PETA notes that notorious Hollywood animal supplier Birds & Animals Unlimited (BAU) apparently supplied some of the animals for the film. PETA’s 10-month-long investigation into BAU revealed that animals were denied adequate veterinary care for illnesses and injuries, forced to live inside filthy enclosures, and denied food so that they would be hungry while being trained to do tricks. Following PETA’s exposé, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited BAU for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.