PETA Calls for A Dog’s Purpose Boycott After Video Shows German Shepherd Forced Into Water

Correction appended Jan. 19 2017

PETA has called for a boycott of the upcoming film A Dog’s Purpose after on-set video footage obtained by TMZ showed a German Shepherd being forced into turbulent water.

In the video, the dog resists going into the water during shooting for the film in Winnipeg, Canada, according to TMZ. The German Shepherd was one of at least 5 dogs used in the film production.

“He wants to get away, just throw him in,” a voice off-camera says in the video.

PETA has condemned the movie in a statement, People reported.

“PETA is calling on dog lovers to boycott the film in order to send the message that dogs and other animals should be treated humanely, not as movie props,” the organization said.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday night, the film’s director, Lasse Hallstrom, distanced himself from the video, saying he was “very disturbed” by the footage and that “any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.”

“I did not witness these actions,” he said. “We were all committed to providing a loving and safe environment for all the animals in the film.”

A representative from the American Humane Association who was on the film set to ensure no animals would be harmed has been suspended, the organization told TMZ. The AHA said an independent third party would investigate the matter after officials saw the video.

In a statement to TMZ, Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures said they had seen the video and would look into the incident.

“Fostering a safe environment and ensuring the ethical treatment of our animal actors was of the utmost importance to those involved in making this film and we will look into the circumstances surrounding this video,” they said.

Correction: The original version of this story misstated the name of the organization which had a representative on set to ensure no animals were harmed. It is the American Humane Association.