There seems to be a bit of a media debate raging just now about alleged animal cruelty in the new film 'Water for Elephants' starring Reese 'The Chin' Witherspoon.

Here's the article from The Guardian.

Elephant trainers accused of abusing animal star of Water for Elephants

Animal entertainment company says video purportedly showing elephants being beaten and given electric shocks 'heavily edited'

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Elephant trainers accused of abusing animal star of Water for Elephants

Animal entertainment company says video purportedly showing elephants being beaten and given electric shocks 'heavily edited'

• Robert Pattinson with Tai in Water for Elephants. It has been claimed that the suppliers of the elephant employed abusive training methods. Photograph: David James
  An animal rights group claims that a

video it has posted online shows the elephant that appears in the Robert Pattinson film Water for Elephants being beaten and given electric shocks.
Animal Defenders International (ADI) says the footage shows animals including the 45-year-old Asian elephant Tai, who plays circus animal Rosie in the film, being shocked with handheld stun guns and beaten around the body and legs with bull hooks while in the care of the company Have Trunk Will Travel.
The group claims Tai is the elephant that appears to cry out while performing a headstand in the video.
Water for Elephants is a romantic drama about a circus vet set in the depression era and stars Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz alongside Pattinson. It contains fictional scenes of animal cruelty and shows animals performing various tricks.
The chief executive of ADI, Jan Creamer, said: "We were uncomfortable with the message of this film, but the more we saw the repeated assertions that this elephant has been treated with love and affection and never been abused, we realised that we had to get the truth out. The public, the stars and the film-makers have been duped. This poor elephant was trained to do the very tricks you see in the film by being given electric shocks."
ADI said the video was shot in 2005.
The American Humane Association, a US organisation dedicated to protecting children and animals which monitored preparations for Water for Elephants, said: "We're here observing prep on Water for Elephants and so we're here to make sure that everybody knows that not only the action on set but also the prep is humanely done, all these animals have been treated fairly and humanely throughout the entire course of their training."
But Creamer added: "I believe that Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson will be horrified to learn what Tai went through."
Gary and Kari Johnson of Have Trunk Will Travel said: "We are unwavering in our commitment to elephants. We stand by our care and training methods. We are proud of our contributions to elephant welfare and conservation.
"Animal rights extremist groups are using Tai's role in Water for Elephants as a vehicle to take advantage of her celebrity to further their efforts to remove elephants and all exotic animals from entertainment. These groups have no basis of knowledge or experience working with elephants.
"The video shows heavily edited and very short snippets, obviously taken surreptitiously six years ago, purporting mistreatment of our elephants. If there was truly any abuse going on why wait six minutes, much less six years?
"None of the footage being shown was taken during Tai's training for Water for Elephants. Tai's celebrity and the popularity of the movie seem to be the motivation for the extremist groups to garner publicity for themselves and their cause. As our work in the movie proves, you can make something look like anything to suit your purposes. That is why they call it 'movie magic'."