PETA Calls On Jerry Bruckheimer to End Wild Animal Use On-Set

The ask to the Hollywood producer follows a media report that a monkey on the set of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' repeatedly vomited.

Following a British tabloid report that a capuchin monkey repeatedly vomited on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Friday urged producer Jerry Bruckheimer to commit to never using monkeys or other wild animals in his movies again.

The animal rights group instead urged Bruckheimer and The Walt Disney Company to use computer-generated imagery to depict animals in scenes. "Dead men may tell no tales, but reports of capuchins vomiting uncontrollably and biting a makeup artist on the Pirates of the Caribbean set speak for themselves," PETA senior vp Colleen O'Brien said in a statement. Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

"PETA is calling on the film's producers to wise up, join the modern age of computer-generated imagery and stop forcing sensitive wild animals to perform on camera," she added. The 2015 shoot for the latest release from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise included two capuchin monkeys from California being shipped to Australia to serve as the pet for Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush.

PETA said it warned the Pirates of the Caribbean filmmakers that the sensitive capuchin monkeys would suffer in transit to Australia, and claimed that animal supplier Joe Suffredini of Avian Entertainment in the past has violated the federal Animal Welfare Act.

"Some of his U.S. Department of Agriculture citations are for having filthy and inadequate enclosures, failing to supply adequate environmental enrichment and not having an adequate program of veterinary care," the animal rights group said of Suffredini.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which hit theaters on May 26, again follows Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in another swashbuckling adventure. The movie, directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, also stars Orlando Bloom and Rush, along with series newcomers Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario.