One Direction Releases "Steal My Girl" Music Video, Tells PETA No Animals Were Hurt During Filming

Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson's clip features Danny DeVito

By Zach Johnson Oct 24, 2014 3:00 PMTags

One Direction has released clips from the "Steal My Girl" music video since Sunday.

The U.K. boy band released the full-length version Friday, but not before riling up PETA.

Benjamin Turner and Gabe Turner directed the video, which features Danny DeVito.

In an open letter addressed to Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, PETA told the pop stars Thursday that they are "concerned about reports that a chimpanzee, a lion and other wild and exotic animals were used in a new One Direction video." The animal rights organization told the quintet, "You may not know that animals used for entertainment productions, including music videos, endure horrific cruelty and suffer from extreme confinement and violent training methods."

"Primates are intelligent, curious and highly social animals with complex physical and psychological needs," PETA wrote. "They often become stressed and anxious when they are hauled around and forced into unfamiliar or frightening situations. Stage sets—with their bright lights, heavy equipment, and boisterous crowds—can be terrifying to animals, even when every precaution is taken." PETA claimed that the company the band used, Steve Martin's Working Wildlife, is renowned for mistreating animals.

"We're equally concerned about the use of other exotic animals in the video, especially the lion," the organization said. "These animals are torn away from their mothers shortly after birth and subjected to abusive training methods such as electric shocks and food deprivation. At the end of the day, a tiger, lion or bear is a dangerous animal with a strong, innate predatory drive, and trainers use extreme and often violent training methods to dominate and control them through fear. When they aren't being trained, they're typically kept in small cages and deprived of everything natural and important to them."

PETA concluded its letter by telling the boy band, "We hope you'll consider removing the wild animal scenes from the final video and make the conscientious decision never to work with wild animals again."

In a press release, PETA alleged that "the exhibitor hired for the 'Steal My Girl' video, Steve Martin, has a history of violating the very minimal standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including by locking apes in small and barren cages for up to 18 hours a day, failing to provide animals with adequate shelter from the elements, and denying animals adequate space, clean cages, and proper feeding."

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The production company, Fulwell 73, assured E! News that proper precautions were taken.

"We have the upmost respect for organizations such as PETA and Wild Futures, who we support greatly for their passion and incredible dedication," Fulwell 73 said in a statement Thursday night. "We vetted Steve Martin closely and chose him based on his exemplary treatment of animals, his highly regarded 'reward based' training, and his history in contributing to animal conservation educational programs."

"Outside of Steve's highly respected body of work on films and TV series such as The Bourne Legacy, True Blood, The Zookeeper and Dances With Wolves, Steve provides educational tours on animal conservation for the public of his 62 acre modern facility, which is one of the largest private animal facilities in California, set in a natural environment in Frazier Park, Calif. Equally as imperative to us in choosing Steve Martin, was that he maintains a spotless on-set accident-free record which spans over 44 years of exemplary and highly respected work in the motion picture, television, commercial and video production industry. Nothing is more valuable to our productions than ensuring the safety for our all of our crew and cast, especially the safety of our cast members provided by Steve Martin," Fulwell 73 said.

Controversy aside, 1D is gearing up for its worldwide On the Road again 2015 stadium tour. The North American leg, promoted by Live Nation, kicks off on July 9 at the Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, Calif.

The tour will support Four, 1D's new album. "We could not be more excited about the new tour," Horan said in a statement. "We've started rehearsing songs from the new album and can't wait for the fans to hear them live. We're just so very thankful to our amazingly loyal fans—they make it possible for us to play in these incredible places and continue to surprise us every day with their unwavering support."

Fans will have access to a pre-sale by visiting 1D's Facebook page on Oct. 29. Citi card members will have access to pre-sale tickets on Oct. 24 via Citi's Private Pass Program. General tickets will go on sale Nov. 1.

One Direction's new album, Four, will be released Nov. 17.