Is This New Amazon Reality Show Torturing Dogs?! See The Leaked Footage & Decide For Yourself!

UPDATE 1/14/2021 8:40 A.M. PST: This just in — Amazon Prime Video has canceled The Pack after one season. A source told People the decision was based upon difficult travel circumstances due to coronavirus, explaining:

“There is no connection between PETA and the show not coming back.”

That said, animal lovers are overjoyed with the news. On Wednesday, PETA’s senior VP Lisa Lange shared with the outlet:

“Dogs rely on us for everything, including their protection, and anyone who cares about them can breathe a sigh of relief now that The Pack won’t be dangling any more dogs over waterfalls. PETA urges anyone who sees an animal being used for a film or television show to report it immediately—just like the kind person who blew the whistle on this detached-from-reality show.”

We’re so happy no more fur friends will be put into danger — we’d much rather snuggle up to our pups than see them scale cliffs!

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PETA wants Amazon to pack up its problematic new reality competition series!

The organization is up in arms after footage leaked from Season 1 of The Pack, an Amazing Race-style show where owners and their dogs travel and journey across nature together. PETA argues that the animals are put into dangerous situations that they never agreed to do because, well, they’re dogs.

The clips in question were taken from raw footage of a challenge in the show’s third episode that didn’t make it to air. They show several pooch contestants helplessly dangling under their human teammate as the pair rappel down the 108-foot Los Campesinos Falls in Costa Rica; throughout the challenge, the dogs are swung into rock faces and have their legs twisted into dangerous positions.

See the inexcusable imagery for yourself (below):

OMG, so not okay!

To make matters more infuriating, producers for the show knew these sights would upset viewers, according to a source who spoke to TheWrap, and instructed editors to cut around the offensive footage to make the scene work. So, these shots didn’t make it to air; but thanks to whoever recorded the clips on their cell phone from an editing machine, we now know the disturbing stunts this show is making its canine contestants perform against their will.

Obviously, PETA is livid about the ordeal. The org told TheWrap in a statement:

“Video footage of a dog dangling in midair from someone’s harness and paddling in a futile effort to gain his footing before getting swung into a rock face shows exactly where producers’ priorities lay for ‘The Pack.’ It seems that this clip ended up on the cutting room floor because producers knew that the dog was not enthusiastic and happy, but distressed. This senior dog should be curled up on a sofa, not thrown into one dangerous situation after another for the sake of ratings. No dog would choose to be part of this ‘pack.’”

We have to agree with that. Those dogs do NOT look like they’re having fun!

PETA also sent a letter addressed to Chris Castallo, Amazon’s head of unscripted programming, explaining that the footage “establishes exactly why real dogs and other animals don’t belong in films or on TV, as well as the way their safety and well-being are sacrificed for ratings.”

When The Pack was first announced, Amazon made it clear that a team of “accredited veterinarians and certified dog experts” were present for each leg of the race. In an interview with Variety ahead of the show’s debut, exec producer Jay Bienstock said those animal gurus had “absolute power” on set, sharing:

“If dog safety said, ‘Stop this,’ we would stop. We gave them a pass at everything.”

Tbh, the fact that a competition show needs dog safety experts on hand might be a red flag that this shouldn’t be a series to begin with. Do U agree, Perezcious readers?

[Image via Amazon]