[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

The rationale behind exempting cruelty that would have happened regardless of the camera’s presence was so that the law wouldn’t inadvertently penalise serious documentaries exposing animal cruelty - and indeed a fair number of wildlife docs in general.

Yes, in the process it created a loophole, but I’m not sure how you could close it without also cracking down on David Attenborough - and in any case the scenario that you outline is rare in the extreme.

(I daresay a real-life equivalent would be the kangaroo hunt in Wake in Fright, which the Australian RSPCA not only firmly endorsed but even urged Ted Kotcheff to make more graphic, in order to draw international attention to what was happening in the lawless outback - although Kotcheff was presumably mindful of the fact that it’s comparatively early in the film and he didn’t want audiences fleeing the cinema in droves.)

I hated that scene!
Poor wee skippy!