Alec Baldwin, PETA ask Radio City Music Hall to stop using live animals in its 'Christmas Spectacular'

Actor Alec Baldwin, a longtime supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has written an open letter on that organization's behalf to the owners of Radio City Music Hall, requesting that the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” stop using live animals.

In his Dec. 21 letter, addressed to Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. executive chair and CEO James L. Dolan, Baldwin, 65, states that, “[A]s someone who cares deeply about animals, I was disappointed to learn that the show doesn’t just feature dazzling human performers like the Rockettes but also camels, sheep, and donkeys, who are forced to participate in the Nativity scene.”

The Emmy Award winner, who was born in Amityville and raised in Massapequa, and lives part-time in Amagansett, went on to say, “Holiday displays and productions are anything but merry for animals who are often deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them. They feel fear, pain, and stress, just like us, yet they’re hauled from city to city in cramped trucks, stored in backrooms like props, and subjected to loud sounds and disorienting lights.”

He added that “reinventing the iconic show to be animal-free would bring it into the modern era and truly align it with the Christmas spirit.”

In a statement, an MSG Entertainment representative said, “Mr. Baldwin is incorrect in his assumptions. The safety of the animals in the ‘Christmas Spectacular’’s beloved ‘Living Nativity’ scene is always our priority. Their well-being is critical, and they are provided with exceptional round-the-clock care throughout the show’s limited run.”

Baldwin's letter cited the more than 60-year-old Dawn Animal Agency as supplying the livestock, noting the company “has frequently been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violating federal law.”

However, the MSG Entertainment representative told Newsday on Tuesday that while the “Christmas Spectacular” had previously used Dawn, this year’s show utilized animals from the recently formed Vidbel Animal Actors, whose principal, Jenny Vidbel, also co-owns and runs the separate Catskills-area educational farm and camp Vidbel Mountain Homestead.

PETA’s manager of celebrity relations, Nicole Cummins, told Newsday the letter had referred to Dawn as Radio City’s longtime supplier and did not specify it as current supplier. “It’s a great step in the right direction not to use somebody who’s violated federal laws for 30-plus years,” she said, “but the main point is to not use animals altogether.”

She added that while animals may be treated well while at Radio City, “Live Nativity scenes are very distressing to animals. They’re exposed to continual unfamiliar sounds, throngs of people — it’s terrifying to them. It’s unnatural. Human performers chose to perform. These animals are forced to.”

Jenny Vidbel did not respond to Newsday requests for comment other than to note Vidbel Animal Actors and Vidbel Mountain Homestead are run separately. Dawn Animal Agency did not respond to a message submitted through its website’s contact form.