Broadway’s “Cursed Child” Abstains From Animal Cruelty

The Fantastic Beasts Foundation is pleased to announce that we have heard directly from the production itself that “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” on Broadway will not be using live animals. 

The production follows in the compassionate steps of the London production

While this revelation isn’t too surprising, given the fact that the London West End production also opted to halt its use of owls in the cast in June of 2016, we applaud the American version’s decision to continue the tradition of using prop animals instead of real ones. 

During rehearsals and previews for the original West End production, owls that were used in the show would routinely get disoriented in the theatre due to the heat and noise. With the environment of a live theater being completely unsuitable for the owls and for the standards of the production, producers made the decision to replace the birds with props. Since that time, the shows have gone off without a hitch.

The progressive thinking displayed by the producers in ultimately deciding to err on the side of compassion and not use live animals for entertainment gives us hope that in the future, other Harry Potter productions, movies, and tours will be able to make the same courageous decision. And we hope that other Broadway and West End productions un-related to Harry Potter will follow suit and choose the compassionate route of replacing live animals with realistic props and animatronics. 

Tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Lyric Theatre go on sale October 12 at 11am EST, and opens Spring 2018!