'Transformers' director Michael Bay charged over claims a pigeon was killed on a movie set in Italy. He says no animals involved in the movie were harmed.

• Michael Bay has been charged over claims a pigeon was killed on a film set in Rome, Italy, in 2018.
• Italian authorities say the incident occurred on the set of Bay's "6 Underground," reports TheWrap.

"Transformers" director Michael Bay has denied allegations against him after being charged over claims that a pigeon was killed on the set of his 2019 Netflix blockbuster, "6 Underground."

TheWrap reports that Italian authorities have charged Bay in connection with the death of a homing pigeon on the set of the movie in Rome in 2018. Bay confirmed there are charges against him in comments to the publication. Insider could not independently verify the exact charges against the director at press time.

Pigeons are a protected species, along with other wild birds in Italy, and there is a national law against killing, harming, or capturing them, the publication said.

TheWrap report cites a production source who claimed that a bird was killed by a dolly during a take. A witness took a picture and reported the incident to the authorities, TheWrap was told.

Speaking to the publication, Bay said that his team has "clear video evidence" that disproves the claims.

"We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims and disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story," the film director said. "I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist. No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I've worked on in the past 30 years."

He added: "There is an ongoing court case so I cannot get into the specifics, but I am confident we will prevail when I have my day in court."

TheWrap reported that Bay is being held responsible for the incident as the director of the movie that was in production.

The publication said Bay's legal team has tried to throw the case out three times in the past year, and the Italian authorities even gave the "Ambulance" director the option to pay a fine to settle the case. Bay declined the fine.

"I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal," Bay said.

Neither representatives for the Italian police department nor Michael Bay could immediately be reached for comment.