A unique initiative in the audiovisual sector. France Télévisions will ask the producers it works with to limit the use of animals on film as much as possible, for example by replacing them with computer-generated images.
The debate on the use of animals is gradually emerging in the sector, shaking up habits and sometimes sparking controversy, as recently with the announced return of the show “Intervilles” without the famous cows on one of the public channels. .
Generally speaking, France Télévisions has just modified its “code of conduct for commercial partners” to require all its suppliers to favor, “whenever possible, the use of images provided by banks images, special effects or animatronics (kinds of robotic puppets, Editor's note)”, according to the new version of this document, consulted by AFP.
If animals are still used, France Télévisions requests guarantees on filming conditions, to avoid any suffering or a ban on anesthetizing them (to simulate death). It also asks for guarantees on the trainers employed, who must not have “been the subject of any conviction for animal abuse”.
The public group is the first major player in the audiovisual sector and “the only group” to respond to this request from animal defenders, the PAZ association (Projet Animaux Zoopolis), which made the request, told AFP.
The association, which contacted all the major channels, welcomes the decision but regrets that the clause “remains only incentive” and wishes it to “become binding”, explains its director, Amandine Sanvisens. PAZ is opposed in principle to the use of wild, captive and trained animals in filming.
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