Things got a little too real on the reality TV show Race to Survive when one of the contestants killed and ate a protected New Zealand bird species, prompting a warning from authorities.
The contestants had been warned that certain food groups – including protected ones – were off limits. Spencer Jones, who killed and ate the weka, has since apologised, saying, “I made a mistake. It was shortsighted, it was foolish,” according to the website RealityTea.com.
“Survival in the bush of New Zealand isn’t easy,” Jones said. “We did have strategies in place for the racing, but we didn’t prepare for the hunger.”
The weka, a large, brown and protected bird species, is both flightless and curious: two qualities that don’t get an animal far in the real world. They mate for life.
Officials from the New Zealand Department of Conservation have sent a written warning to the show’s producers over the killing of the bird. Dylan Swain, who led the department’s investigation into the killing, told the Guardian the show’s production company was “on notice”.
Jones said he knew that there were “creatures running around camp that we’re not allowed to eat”, but he had been in a “mindset of starvation mode”.
“I knew it was breaking a rule,” he said during the episode, which aired earlier this month and was called A Rule Was Broken. “What I did disrespected New Zealand, and I’m sorry.”
Jones and his teammate Oliver Dev were disqualified from the show, where the surviving team stands to win US$500,000.
The New Zealand Department of Conservation website describes weka as “usually heard, not seen, although some birds, usually those living near farms or tramping huts, get a reputation for pilfering crops, food and other small objects”.
“They will take the objects to the nearest cover to investigate them. For this reason it is best not to chase weka but to simply watch where the weka goes and retrieve the objects a little later.”
The penalty for killing protected wildlife is up to two years in prison or a fine of NZ$100,000, according to the DOC.
In this instance, “the unique set of circumstances – cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation – meant we felt a warning letter was prudent,” the DOC investigator said.
According to RealityTea.com, which writes regular summaries of the episodes, the episode was heavily teased.
“It seemed like the show intentionally tried to avoid the grisly details, but they’ve mentioned weka birds multiple times throughout the show. They made a point to tell us in previous episodes that they were off-limits. You can’t hunt them or eat them, but they’ve been scurrying around survival camp all season long. We’ve seen them causing chaos and tempting everyone with their big juicy bodies,” according to the website.
“In Episode 4, Jones joked that they looked like they would make a good sandwich.”
In an interview with the USA Network, which airs the show, Jones was asked whether he would ever compete again.
“It’s a question we get asked a lot,” he said. “Obviously, ending it in this way has been super, super difficult. If Oliver would have me back as a partner, and this opportunity presented itself again, and it wasn’t in New Zealand, I would probably say yes.”
