Los Angeles, Jan 15 (IANS): "Transformers" director Michael Bay is fighting back against a widely-seen report that said he was charged in Italy for killing a pigeon during production on the 2019 Netflix film, "6 Underground".

The filmmaker called the report "false, reckless, and defamatory", and says he was never charged with killing an animal, reports ‘Variety'.

In a legal letter, obtained by 'Variety', Bay's attorney is demanding a retraction or correction from 'TheWrap', after the Hollywood trade publication published a report this past week regarding the pigeon incident.

The filmmaker's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, says TheWrap's story states that Bay has been accused or "charged" with "killing a pigeon" in connection with the film he directed. "Those statements are simply wrong; they are also harmful," Rosengart writes.

TheWrap reported that the filmmaker was facing charges in Italy relating to the killing of a pigeon on the set in Rome of the Netflix film, despite making several attempts to clear the case with Italian authorities.

According to Variety, the report cited a production insider who said a homing pigeon was allegedly killed by a dolly during a take, and because Bay was the director, he was held responsible. (Pigeons are a protected species in Italy, and the country has a national law that makes it illegal to harm, kill or capture any wild bird).

Bay told TheWrap that he would not get into the specifics since the matter is an ongoing court case, but said he declined the option to settle for a small fine with Italian authorities, stating: "I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal."

Bay has fiercely denied the claims. "I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist," Bay had previously said in a statement to TheWrap. "No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I've worked on in the past 30 years."