Production ground to a halt inside an industrial warehouse in Salt River this week when a car-load of scantily-clad female models arrived to star in a TV advert.

But when the co-stars appeared, workers fled the building. Not surprising, as the co-stars were two three-metre pythons, a giant iguana and a cheetah.

And those were only some of the 40-member wildlife cast that showed off their raw talent this week in aid of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Four-legged, two-legged and no-legged creatures teamed up with models to shoot a two-day commercial worth R750 000 - produced by local film-makers and donated to the SPCA.

Other animal stars included a pot-bellied pig, a squirrel monkey, a gaggle of bad-tempered geese, a hawk and six penguins.

The commercial depicts a "surreal" fashion show, with local actor James Ryan playing the role of host and introducing individual animals to the audience - many of them victims of abuse.

"The basic idea is to make people realise the SPCA is much more than caring for cats and dogs," said Nick Dutton, spokesman for advertising agency Ammirati Puris Lintas which came up with the fashion show theme.

"It's a massive ad. A lot of our clients dream of making something like this," Dutton said.

In addition to the animal stars, the production team called in an animal trainer, vet and three SPCA officers to monitor proceedings. Storm modelling agency provided 35 models free of charge.

Each animal, or group of animals, was allotted a time-slot to appear on set and perform - usually with a bit of encouragement from animal trainer Trevor Morris.

"The whole thing takes a lot of patience and trust," said Morris, who keeps hand-reared farm animals in Constantia.

"Pigs are highly intelligent and respond to training very well. The thickest thing I've worked with is a turkey," he added.

A few new animal stars emerged during the show. Jessabel the dairy cow discovered there's more to life than chewing the cud when she trotted down the catwalk, swishing her tail and raising a few eyebrows. Acting is second nature to pelicans, judging by the people-friendly performance of two-year-old Tiny, unable to fly since she flew into a power line and crushed her wing.

Also revelling in the attention was Billy the goat, recently stabbed 23 times in Khayelitsha.

Even the pythons played their part without developing a crush on the models.

And, fortunately for Christmas dinner, the turkeys displayed no talent whatsoever.

Webmaster's note:
Er...so an animals' right to life is now based on his/her acting talents? hmmm... :)