Real cats being "poisoned to death" in film and television dramas have sparked heated discussions. How can we avoid animal harm?

Recently, the cat in the TV series "The Mistress of the House" has frequently sparked heated discussions.

In the play, a white cat was poisoned after eating snacks and fell straight off the table with blood hanging from the corner of its mouth. The abnormal state of the white cat in the clip made many netizens question whether the crew had directly poisoned a real cat. Later, another actor spoke out on Weibo, saying that he witnessed the crew injecting the cat with unknown liquid four or five times.

TV series "Mistress of the House"

Although the crew said that the white cat was not dead, and posted a video of the white cat's current condition, and stated that they had resorted to legal means, they still failed to quell the doubts and anger of netizens.

The crew posted a video of the cat returning home, but netizens questioned whether it was the same cat | Weibo @电视当家主母

Is the cat in the video clip in a normal state? Is it necessary to show cats vomiting blood and dying in movies and TV series? Veterinarian @M. and film and television industry practitioner @Photographer who can't play guitar discussed from their professional perspectives - the cat in the video is in an abnormal state, which could have been avoided.

There is no instinctive reaction, the cat is not in a normal state

The white cat in the video fell straight off the table. This could be due to one of the following two situations:

1. The cat is in a normal physiological state, but is being pulled by a string;

2. The cat's physiological state is abnormal due to medication or other methods, so it behaves as shown in the video clip.

The crew released a clip on Weibo, saying that they used wires to guide the filming of this scene | Weibo @电视当家主母

Is the cat's physiological state normal? Abnormal

Cats are very flexible animals, thanks to their powerful and sensitive nervous system. When a healthy cat loses its balance, such as by jumping from a height or falling accidentally, the cat will adjust its landing posture through the perception and reaction of the central nervous system. For example, if you lift a cat to a certain safe height and then let go, the cat will be able to adjust its posture and land on all fours. For a healthy cat, the nervous system is like a sentinel, protecting it and maintaining its balance. Cats may lose their balance only when the nervous system is abnormal.

Is the nervous system of the little white cat in the video normal or abnormal? In fact, the answer has been shown in the video.

A cat with a normal nervous system will actively adjust its limbs to maintain a normal posture when in an abnormal position. Even trained cat or dog actors will instinctively use their front or hind limbs to support themselves and adjust to a normal position when falling from a height. Even with a thin rope, cats will instinctively try to adjust their landing posture, but we can't see any such signs in the video.

In cat neurological examinations, proprioception and single-leg hop tests are often used to determine whether the cat's forelimbs and hind limbs are normal. If the cat cannot adjust the posture of the forelimbs or hind limbs, it can be determined to be abnormal.

Proprioception and the Hop Test | NashvilleVetSpecialists.com; Kirk Anderson/Youtube; Chinese translation: M.

The little white cat in the video "Mistress of the House" is very obvious, and its front and hind limbs do not show any posture adjustment. Therefore, it can be determined that the cat has an abnormality in its nervous system.

Are you anesthetized? This is a very dangerous procedure.

Since the cat's nervous system is abnormal, could this only be temporary? There are indeed some ways to cause temporary abnormalities in the nervous system, the simplest of which is the use of anesthetic drugs.

However, there are strict restrictions and standards for the use of anesthetic drugs. Anesthetic drugs can suppress important organs such as the nervous system, heart and lung function, so in animal hospitals, if cats need to be anesthetized, they need to undergo a detailed and comprehensive examination, including physical examination (such as auscultation of heart and lung sounds, neurological examination, and dozens of other items), blood tests (routine blood tests, liver and kidney function tests, etc.), imaging tests (abdominal color Doppler ultrasound, cardiac color Doppler ultrasound, etc.), etc.

Animal surgery also requires monitoring equipment | veterinarypracticenews.com

Even when anesthetizing a healthy cat, there are still certain risks. Therefore, during the anesthesia process, the anesthesiologist needs to monitor the functions of the animal's cardiovascular system, nervous system and other important organs throughout the process. At the same time, when the animal is anesthetized, it is also necessary to connect sophisticated anesthesia equipment to determine whether the animal's indicators are in a normal state. In addition, during the anesthesia process, the anesthesiologist also needs to repeatedly evaluate whether the cat's anesthesia level is appropriate. Once the anesthesia level is too deep, there will be a risk of death.

The figure below is a simple anesthesia depth assessment table. Anesthesiologists will use these characteristics to assess the depth of anesthesia in animals.

Tabulation:M.

If the little white cat in the video used anesthetic drugs, it would have symptoms such as muscle tension, convulsions, opisthotonos, and pupil dilation. At this time, it should be in the anesthesia excitement period. When the animal is in this state, the anesthesiologist should usually monitor the animal's various physiological indicators and try to get it through the anesthesia excitement period quickly and smoothly. If it continues to be in the anesthesia excitement period, the animal's nervous system and other important organs may suffer irreversible damage. Therefore, if the little white cat has these symptoms due to the use of drugs, it is a very wrong example if there is no monitoring equipment to determine the cat's physiological indicators.

If anesthetics are not used, can other drugs cause these symptoms in cats? A variety of drugs and poisons may suppress the cat's nervous system and cause symptoms such as opisthotonos and convulsions, such as heavy metal poisoning (lead, etc.), rat poison or pesticide poisoning, etc. However, the damage to the animal's nervous system caused by such poisons is usually irreversible. If these items are used to cause abnormalities in the cat's nervous system, it is even more dangerous.

This is an unnecessary injury.

More importantly, whether it is cat abuse or controversy, it could have been avoided. If you want to show a cat dying from poisoning, you don’t necessarily have to find a real cat. Filmmakers can use many ways to show the death or injury of animals without harming them.

Method 1: Rely on editing skills

This is a relatively simple and commonly used method, which uses real animals + character dialogues and montage editing techniques to convey the message of animal death. If necessary, animal models can also be used.

The language of the shot of a cat being poisoned can be presented like this: filming a cat eating tea and being poisoned - the characters in the same scene are horrified - the cat model falls to the ground. (It should be emphasized here that the tea is only poisonous in the plot setting, but the food used in the filming should be non-toxic and harmless to cats.)

Photographed by: Black Jio sister

In some larger-scale film and television productions, the crew may hire a professional model maker to make models of dead animals. If the crew does not have the budget, they can use a relatively low-cost plush toy instead. During filming, only part of the plush toy's body is exposed, and the performance of the human actor conveys the message that the animal is dead. This can not only show the message that needs to be conveyed, but also ensure the safety of all human and animal actors. Even without the impact of the animal's death shot, the audience can understand the crew's approach.

Wolf model from the movie "Wolf Totem" | "Wolf Totem" documentary "Wolf Tracks"

Method 2: Special Effects

There is more room for creativity when using special effects modeling to represent the death of animals. For example, the cat "Songzi" who pounced on Noble Lady Fucha in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" was created through CG effects.

Modeled cats in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" | "The Legend of Zhen Huan"

Modeling cats and dogs is difficult. The public already has a deep impression of cats and dogs. If the simulated cats and dogs are not of high quality, they can be recognized at a glance. In addition, the large amount of hair on cats and dogs also places extremely high demands on the machine that realizes model rendering. Therefore, the cost budget requirements for using special effects modeling are also much higher.

Method 3: Induce or train animals to complete certain actions

For example, in the movie Wolf Totem, there is a scene where a wolf is twitching in a pool of blood. According to the crew, fake blood was first sprinkled on the ground, and then some special smells that would excite the wolf were added, so that the wolf actor would roll around there. After editing and adding music, the scene of the wolf lying in a pool of blood was presented.

The film "Wolf Totem" is presented in the documentary | "Wolf Totem" documentary "Wolf Tracks"

Many people who keep pet dogs will train their pets to do simple skills such as walking, standing, sitting and lying down. Smarter dogs can also learn advanced skills such as picking up objects and standing at a fixed point. This training method can also be used on some animal actors. In a more mature industrial production system, there will also be professional animal trainers, and there are many different types of jobs, and there are even insect trainers.

The movie "Wolf Totem" trains wolves to stand in fixed positions | "Wolf Totem" documentary "Wolf Tracks"

In 1939, during the filming of the American film "Jesse James", a horse fell off a cliff and died. Under public outrage, the American Humane Society reached an agreement with what would later become the Motion Picture Association of America to begin monitoring the behavior and care of animals on film and television sets. Similarly, the use of animals in British film and television productions is also regulated by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In recent years, there have been more and more cases of improper use of animals in film and television dramas. During the filming of "The King of Dogs", the director blew up a retired military dog ​​for realism; in "The New Three Kingdoms", many horses were frightened or even died.

These are undoubtedly man-made animal tragedies. Perhaps after this series of events, the film and television industry will pay more attention to animal welfare. Whether it is the formulation of professional regulatory standards or the improvement of practitioners' own awareness of animal protection, these "animal actors" can appear in film and television works in a safe and healthy state just like humans.

Perhaps future works will end with a promise like this: no animals were harmed during the filming process.

Author: M., Heijio sister

Professional Review: The Photographer Who Can’t Play Guitar

Editor: Mai Mai, white stork on the shore

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward