Animals are at the center of their own practical-vs.-digital effects debate

polygon.com:

Many a wisenheimer movie buff has compared Johnny Knoxville to silent-era greats like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The commonality is reality, and the difference is pain. Whereas Keaton put himself under the falling façade of a house, only to come out unscathed thanks to a well-placed window, Jackass frontman Johnny Knoxville would prefer himself crushed — as long as he can get back up and endanger himself again. Still, it’s part of a continuum.

In the franchise’s 20-plus years, however, one complaint against Jackass’ brand of yes-this-is-real stunt comedy lingers, and it’s cropping up again in anticipation of Jackass Forever, the group’s fourth feature film. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) doesn’t care if Knoxville wants to light Steve-O’s flatulence on fire underwater, but the animal rights organization won’t sit quietly when the fraternity of pranksters wrangles a rampaging bull for its particular brand of showmanship. In January, PETA issued the following statement (which representatives for Jackass Forever and Paramount Pictures declined to comment on for this story):

Johnny Knoxville can choose to retire from dangerous stunts, but the bulls, bears, snakes, and other animals tormented for movies like Jackass Forever are the real victims who spend their entire lives facing harassment and often deprivation and harm at the hands of Hollywood trainers. Paramount Pictures should know that animal exploitation doesn’t belong on a 2022 movie screen, and PETA is calling on moviegoers to stay away from this sordid sideshow.

The weekend of the film’s release, PETA went one further, calling for an investigation into criminal charges on the basis that the production may have broken [California] animal