Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503999
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 JULY 2023 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, PETA said it was in- formed the production plans to continue Tuesday through Sat- urday next week. Together with Maltese NGO Animal Liberation Malta, it urged Scott to immediately can- cel plans to use real animals for the film. According to the letter to Scott, a whistleblower reported that a horse's leg had gave out on set, presumably due to the heat, with concerns that the horses, which are in costume, were being exposed to hot tem- peratures and even forced to stand in direct sunlight during and between takes. "Scorching summer heat and oppressive costumes are a dan- gerous mix for horses, who are naturally skittish animals, prone to flight and injury, and vulnerable to the stresses of a film set," PETA associate direc- tor for animals in film, Lauren Thomasson. "The film and TV industries have a past riddled with on-set horse injuries and even deaths. We sincerely hope Gladiator 2 avoids adding another death to that list." The two NGOs also said that another animal species, ma- caques, could be unpredictable and that it was within a mon- key's nature to solve problems with aggression. "So they can and will attack and bite humans. Their teeth are sharp, their jaws are strong, and their bites are often severe. Macaques com- monly carry the herpes B virus, which can be deadly to humans, so keeping them in the vicin- ity of humans results in public health risks as well." In addition to the lead stars Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washing- ton, and Paul Mescal, others like Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Lior Raz, Joseph Quinn, Derek Jacobi, Matt Lu- cas, Peter Mensah, Mike Par- ish, and Chi Lewis-Parry were implored by PETA to relay the organisation's concerns. MATTHEW VELLA THE controversy over the Jean Paul Sofia magisterial inquiry is drawing the inquiring magis- trate into a propaganda war be- ing registered on social media. A vigil for Sofia, the 19-year- old victim of a construction collapse, was held outside Castille Square in Valletta on Monday evening after Prime Minister Robert Abela relent- ed on his refusal for a parallel, public inquiry into the death of the teenager. On Abela's U-turn, commu- nicated personally to Sofia's mother Isabelle Bonnici, news also emerged that the inquir- ing magistrate had requested a two-month extension on the inquiry. Government critics, chiefly former Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, accused the Abela administration of misinforma- tion in its bid to pin procedural delays on the Sofia magisterial inquiry on Magistrate Marse- ann Farrugia. Abela has long criticised delays in this inquiry by way of explaining his refusal to launch a public inquiry into the Sofia construction death. "Victoria Buttigieg is in col- lusion with the government to foment the lie on the inquiring magistrate, to induce the mag- istrate to submit a simple note on the delay as per Article 550 [COCP], so that the govern- ment uses it as an excuse," Az- zopardi claimed on Facebook. While the government issued a statement saying the mag- istrate had requested a two- month extension for comple- tion of the inquiry, Azzopardi said the law mandates magis- trates to inform the Attorney General of the reason for any delay in the completion of such proces-verbals every 60 days. At law, the magistrate's in- quiry is presented only to the Attorney General, not to the government. When the inquiry is not completed within two months or 60 days, the mag- istrate informs the AG with a report within three days of the lapse of that period. The 'report' is procedural and is repeated every month, but critics insist this is not a re- quest to extend the inquiry The minister for justice, Jonathan Attard, reacted to statements on social media at- tacking AG Victoria Buttigieg, claiming a judicial writ she filed on the inquiry 'delay' was the only way to keep the in- quiring magistrate "accounta- ble". "This legal procedure has been uses for years, with the AG last year filing 505 such procedural writs in these pend- ing magisterial inquiries. I une- quivocally condemn the sense- less attacks against the AG." PETA tells Ridley Scott to stop use of live animals on Gladiator 2 set in Malta PETA and Animal Liberation Malta say a whistleblower reported that a horse's leg had given out on set, presumably due to soaring temperatures Sofia inquiry: government accused of spinning on magistrate's 'extension' Thousands attended the vigil for Jean Paul Sofia on Monday Ridley Scott at For Manoel while on a location touring trip