Report: Shark used for Kmart commercial dies

LOS ANGELES A 5-foot-long shark died after being put in an above-ground pool at a Los Angeles home where a Kmart commercial was being filmed, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The white-tipped shark died March 6 after being shipped from New York to Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times said.

The shark was injected with adrenaline and received oxygen after it showed signs of stress. It was later removed from the pool and died that afternoon.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it had sent a letter to Kmart asking it to stop using wild animals in ads, and a letter to the American Humane Association detailing an unnamed whistleblower's account of the death.

The whistleblower worked on the commercial, PETA said.

The signs of stress were observed when actors jumped in and out of the pool with the shark, said Lisa Lange, PETA senior vice president.

The humane association, which is in charge of protecting animals during filming, shut down production an hour after the distress signs were seen.

Messages left by The Associated Press for the association and Kmart, which is owned by Sears Holdings Corp., were not immediately returned. A Kmart spokesman told the Times the incident was being investigated.

"Again, it appears that no one on set is protecting animals from exploitation, suffering, and death," Lange said.

Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, said the system needs to be changed.

"Instead of entrusting the safety of animal actors to a private agency whose services are paid for by the very industry that would exploit them, let us simply call for an end of using animals as living, breathing props for our entertainment," she said.

[judymar14]

Kmart has been on it's way out for years, maybe this will do it. I don't shop at Kmart, but wish I did so I could boycott the store.

[micmac666]

That accident didn't have to wait long. A ten year old could see that coming.

[animalrightsnow2013]

[e-mail]

****TELL K-MART YOU ARE BOYCOTTING THEIR STORES. SHAME ON THEM!

[sticks_n_stones]

That was just unnecessary and cruel. Maybe it is time to ban the use of animals in commercials. It seems some people making them just can't be trusted to make sure the animals are safe.

[magnumdr]

Oh no! not the shark. just one less bread killing machine that bit the dust!

[tsigili]

The idiots probably put the shark in a chlorine treated pool, and not a salt water pool, free of chlorine.

[harv823]

Those responsible for this should be prosecuted and animals should be banned for use in things like this.

[gemini99--2008]

That sharks lives in salt-water. They put it in a pool of fresh with chlorine tho article did not say...?

EFF KMART & SEARS. BoyCott anyone using animals this way.

And Watch Rhino Wars: Awesome: Navy Selas taking down Poachers! Thursday at 9am on Animal Planet (And yes, "Righties", I own a couple guns AND support animals, so don't throw me in the "liberal" bucket). try opening your mind instead... to something besides a book of fairy tales

[IMP578]

Kmart needs to close. It's a junk store that should have gone out of business a long time ago. Now they result to killing and torture? Shame on you. I hope bankrupcy will follow.

[gmard]

will be avoiding kmart till they accept responsibility & so will a lot more people when this goes to twitter.

[matt6052]

Corporate foolishness.

Didn't we learn anything from the tragic story of Travis the chimpanzee. He had a successful career in television commercials and then retired to become the mascot of a towing company, where he one day went bizerk and ripped the face off a visitor.