Michael Bay has responded after it was revealed he is facing charges for killing a pigeon in Italy.
The director denied allegations that the bird was killed while he was filming a take for 2018 action film 6 Underground, which starred Ryan Reynolds.
He said that he has made numerous attempts to clear the case with Italian officials in recent years.
“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” the Bad Boys filmmaker said in a statement.
The director told TheWrap: “No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed, or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years.”
Authorities are said to be claiming that the homing pigeon was killed by a dolly during a take, with the alleged incident reportedly being caught on video and sent to authorities by an anonymous individual.
However, Bay, who is being held responsible as the director of the film, said: “We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo – which gives a false story.”
He also said that he declined the chance to settle the case by paying a small fine as he believes it would have been a false admission of guilt.
“I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal,” he said.
Italian law states that it is illegal to harm, kill or capture any wild bird, including pigeons, which are protected in the EU under the Birds Directive.
“There is an ongoing court case so I cannot get into the specifics, but I am confident we will prevail when I have my day in court,” Bay stated.
6 Underground, which also starred Corey Hawkins, Dave Franco and Adria Arjona, was released in 2018.
The Independent has contacted Bay and Netflix for comment.
