Peta Protests 'Speed Racer' DVD
Barry Shlachter - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jul 22, 2008
Blockbuster said that it will rent out "Speed Racer" despite a request by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to blacklist the PG-rated DVD because a chimpanzee allegedly was beaten by its trainer on the set. Warner Brothers plans to release a three-disc set containing the PG-rated film Sept. 18.
Netflix, also approached by PETA, declined to comment on what it will offer.
Meanwhile, PETA has asked prosecutors in Potsdam, Germany, where the film was shot, to investigate whether animal abuse was committed. It quoted an American Humane Association on-set monitor as saying that a chimp playing Chim Chim was hit by a U.S. trainer.
The AHA gave "Speed Racer" an "unacceptable" rating because of the alleged incident. During filming, one of the two chimps bit but did not injure a child actor, and five piranhas died, although not from mistreatment.
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