The recent deaths of two puppies on a Vancouver movie set has triggered a call by B.C.'s Society for the Protection of Animals for better protection for animals used by filmmakers in the province.

Last month, two golden retriever puppies being used in the movie Snow Buddies got sick and had to be put down.

The SPCA wants the provincial government to step in to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"I think there has to be some sort of code that the movie industry promises to adhere to when using animals in entertainment," said Marcie Moriarty, the SPCA's general manager for cruelty investigations.

Animal agent Evelyn Gilmar, who finds animals for producers, said trainers and agents often have to fight to not have their animals used in unsafe ways.

"The movie people that bring in animals really don't know. So it's up to the animal handlers to say, 'No, I'm not going to do that.'"

Gilmar said many dog breeders won't even sell or rent animals to film companies because there's too much risk their canines will get hurt.
 
But she also said some breeders just don't care.

"The bucks are big and few and far between so the temptation is always there," she said.

The two puppies that died in February were brought to B.C. from New York state.
 
Meanwhile, Moriarty said the public has to become more aware of how the animals in movies they watch were treated during filming.