Wildlife presenter Chris Packham has hit out at I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! for continuing to use animals and creepy crawlies in the latest series.
Chris, 61, said the reality show should have ditched using animals when I'm A Celeb returned to Australia, after a few years away thanks to Covid.
The Springwatch presenter's comments come after animal rights charity PETA urged Ant & Dec to step down from hosting the programme, over the trials which use animals.
Many of the infamous Bushtucker Trials have involved the use of rats, snakes, spiders and other jungle critters as well as live insects during the eating challenges.
ITV says that welfare and safety is always the primary priority on their programmes, and they have rigorous protocols in place to make sure the animals are handled safely.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Chris said: “I don’t know what ITV are thinking. It was a great opportunity to restructure the programme.
“Keep it entertaining, keep the viewers there – I’m sure the people at ITV have every capacity to do that – they’re the kings of light entertainment.
“But you don’t need to abuse animals – it’s medieval.“
Chris said he is very unhappy with the way the show “abuse animals“, adding that I'm A Celeb stereotypes them.
He added that animals being exploited for entertainment is 'embarrassing and lazy'.
A spokesperson for I'm A Celebrity told the Mirror: “We are always fully transparent about our protocols and we have a very strict environmental plan in place on the show.
“As a production, we comply with all regional and national laws concerning the use of insects, animals and reptiles.
“Welfare and safety is always the primary priority on any of our programmes, and at any Bushtucker trial that features animals, we have qualified and experienced animal handlers on site at all times.
“We inform the RSPCA NSW of all of our activities on the show and they have an open invitation to attend the site at any time.
The spokesperson added: “We cannot stress enough that we have rigorous protocols in place to ensure that animals are handled safely at all times, before, during and after any filming has taken place, in compliance with all regional and national laws.“
Ahead of the new series, which has seen Mike Tindall, Boy George and Charlene White sign up, PETA published an open letter online, urging 46-year-old Ant and Dec, 47, to quit the show.
In the letter, from PETA's Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen, Ant and Dec are accused of being “complicit in cruelty to animals“ on the ITV programme as various challenges include snakes, insects and other animals.
The scathing letter said: “For 20 years, you have been complicit in the 'bushtucker trials', standing by as animals of all descriptions are tormented – and even killed – for TV ratings.
“In this time, you must surely have become aware of the suffering, discomfort, and fear that these unwilling participants endure during the challenges.
“Ostriches, crocodiles, snakes, rats, and thousands of insects have been exploited for the show’s puerile pranks – and we fear that the upcoming series will be no different.“
