Please Note: The above footage contains disturbing material. Discretion advised. The footage shows Hackenberger whipping Uno during training, referencing ways to hurt the animal to gain obedience.

Hollywood tiger trainer charged in Canada for animal cruelty

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Daksha Rangan

Digital Reporter

Wednesday, July 13, 2016, 10:06 AM - Please Note: The above footage contains disturbing material. Discretion advised.

Notable tiger trainer Michael Hackenberger is facing multiple charges of animal cruelty after footage of his malpractice emerged in 2015.

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) filed five charges against Hackenberger in April following to an incident involving Uno, a Siberian tiger. The footage, released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in December 2015, shows Hackenberger whipping Uno several times in a row during a training session.

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"The charges include causing an animal to be in distress by striking the animal with a whip handle; causing an animal to be in distress by repeatedly striking the animal with a whip; causing an animal to be in distress by striking the animal in the face with a whip; causing an animal distress by pushing his thumb into the animal’s eye and a charge that encompasses failing to take care of the animal and protect its welfare."

Hackenberger denied all charges following the video's release, saying the whipping did not actually happen, the CBC reports.

In the footage, Hackenberger discusses his training methods openly with an undercover correspondent.

"I like hitting him in the face. And the paws -- which get the paws off," Hackenberger said.

"But here's the problem at the end of the day. If we'd been running a videotape the whole time you were here, and you did a 45-second ... montage of the times I struck this animal, PETA would burn this place to the ground."

Among Hackenberger's list of Hollywood films is "Life of Pi," a movie based on a Canadian fantasy novel. In addition to animal training, Hackenberger formerly owned Ontario's Bowmanville Zoo, which announced that it will be closing its doors shortly after the video went public.

Supplemental footage of Hackenberger's training methods were recently released further documenting the extent of the trainer's inflicted abuse.

Following an adjournment on June 6, the case will go to a pretrial conference with the Crown and Hackenberger's defence lawyer David Elmaleh.

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SOURCE: Durham Region | CBC | People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals