American Humane Rains On District 9's Parade

Most of us already know that not one, but TWO science-fiction films have been Oscar-nominated for Best Picture this year and how awesome that a science-fiction film may finally win the coveted title. District 9 shocked many of us when it first came out with its creative storytelling technique and likable characters, but it looks like the American Humane Association is trying to destroy the movie's chances of Oscar history because they did not approve the line "no animals were harmed" at the end credits.

Last week, Karen Rosa, vice president of American Humane’s Film & TV Unit issued a statement that they "did not monitor ‘District 9.’ And the unauthorized use of that end credit on ‘District 9’ not only leaves open the questions of ‘How were the animals treated?’ and ‘Were any of them harmed or killed?’, but it’s dishonest to the public and it’s a slap in the face to the conscientious productions that have American Humane on set, meet our standards for animal safety, and have legitimately earned the right to say ‘No Animals Were Harmed.’ We encourage Academy members to cast their votes for films other than ‘District 9,’ to send the message that Hollywood cares about the safety of animals and respects intellectual property."

I understand that the use of "no animals were harmed" shouldn't have been used, but to threaten the integrity of the voting process for the Academy Awards is downright disgusting. Members of the Academy should vote on the basis of the collaborative efforts from production, directing, acting, writing efforts, and overall artistic expression. American Humane is absolutely wrong for encouraging Academy members to cast votes for other nominations. It's against the artistic integrity of why it was nominated in the first place.

Granted, I feel that there should be more investigation on this topic especially the interaction with animals during filming, but c'mon - get over it, American Humane. Please don't become PETA.

Speaking of which, PETA is going to go apeshit once they hear about this. :::sigh:::