Amazon dog competition show condemned by PETA is not getting second season

First season aired last year

The Pack season one aired on Amazon Prime last year (YouTube/Amazon Prime Video)

The Pack, a competition reality series featuring dogs and their owners, will not be getting a second season at Amazon.

The Wrap announced on Wednesday that the series won’t be getting a second instalment. A studio source confirmed it to The Independent. 

Last month, PETA (the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) condemned The Pack in a letter published by The Wrap, addressed to Amazon’s head of unscripted television, Chris Castallo.

The letter stated that “real dogs and other animals don’t belong in films or on TV” and mentioned “the way their safety and well-being are sacrificed for ratings”.

A spokesperson for Amazon told Deadline that PETA’s remarks did not influence the decision not to move forward with a second season. The studio source cited the coronavirus pandemic in relation to the decision. 

The Independent has contacted Renegade 83, which co-produce the series, as well as PETA, for further comment.

Hosted by Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, The Pack started streaming in November last year. The first season featured 12 dogs and their owners taking part in different challenges around the world.

Back in November 2020, an executive producer for The Pack told Variety that a dog safety team was used to ensure the well-being of the canines on the show, and that the team had “absolute power”.

“If dog safety said, ‘Stop this,’ we would stop,” Jay Bienstock told the publication. “We gave them a pass at everything because, what are we missing here? Like in the first show in Los Angeles on the beach, I’ve gone to the beach with my dog a zillion times without a leash, but they said if there’s no leash, you need a fence, so we built a fence. Their input was so valuable.”