In the new film “Evan Almighty,” no animals were harmed, though hundreds were used on the movie, likely representing more species than any motion picture ever filmed.

Species ranged from giraffes to zebus (a kind of large African cattle) in the comedy, a takeoff on the story of Noah’s ark. Animal safety representative Gina Johnson had never worked with most of the species seen in “Evan Almighty,” including badgers and hyenas, both potentially dangerous.

Of course, Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes and the other actors in the film weren’t on set exchanging lines with potentially dangerous animals. “If the scene required interaction with an animal, the actor was added (to the scene) later,” Johnson says.

There was still plenty of human/wild animal interaction. In one scene, Carell, who portrays a modern-day Noah, worked with lots of birds.

“Let’s just say he had a good sense of humor being under the birds,” Johnson says.

Johnson is one of 10 full-time American Humane certified safety representatives working on movie sets across the United States; another 25 are part-time in the United States and other countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. A motion picture may not use the tag line “No Animals Were Harmed” without an American Humane certified safety representative on-set, making sure handlers adhere to training guidelines and protect the health and well-being of all animals.

Concern over animal welfare on movie sets dates back to 1939 and the Henry Fonda film “Jesse James,” says Karen Rosa, director of the film and television unit at American Humane. A horse plummeted from a cliff into the water below. “This was real, no special effects,” Rosa says. “The stunt man lost his hat, and the horse lost its life. American Humane led a public outcry.”

Since 1940, American Humane has worked with the Screen Actor’s Guild to oversee protection for animals used in movies, and eventually TV, music videos and all SAG productions using animals. That’s around 1,000 productions a year.

However, not all movies are SAG; some are nonunion, and some are made outside the United States, though the public doesn’t necessarily know that.

“Brokeback Mountain” was shot in Canada, without American Humane being invited on-set. Rosa says that for a scene depicting an elk being killed, the director chose to tranquilize the animal. That solution is unacceptable to American Humane, since there are inherent medical risks to tranquilizing an animal. “We would have made movie magic, rather than put any animal at risk,” Rosa says. “Perhaps using fake blood and then cutting to the animal lying down – a behavior which can be taught.” The elk survived.

With American Humane reps encouraging positive training techniques and monitoring their well-being, animals are less stressed on the set, which makes life easier for directors. While actors and crew aren’t likely to fall in love with zebus (although on the talk show circuit promoting “Evan Almighty,” Carell did say he and a baboon “connected”), dogs and cats used in films are often adopted by actors or others connected with the projects. Jone Bouman, communications manager of the Film and Television Unit at American Humane, says Halle Berry adopted the cat she co-starred with in “Catwoman.” Robert DeNiro fell in love with the cat in “Meet the Parents” and adopted him.