Axe ‘cruel’ Bushtucker Trials on I’m A Celebrity says TV’s Chris Packham as he says eating live animals for entertainment is like something from the Middle Ages
- TV presenter Chris Packham has called for Bushtucker trials to be scrapped
- He said the trials involving animals were ‘cruel’ and wants to see Ant and Dec
- Autumnwatch host likened the trials to something from ‘the Middle Ages’
Autumnwatch presenter Chris Packham has said the trials involving animals are ‘cruel’
TV presenter Chris Packham has called for ITV to axe ‘cruel’ Bushtucker trials featuring animals ahead of the new series.
With just weeks to go until I’m a Celebrity returns for season 19, the Autumnwatch host said he wants to meet presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, to demand the trials are scrapped.
‘When I see them being harmed or killed for entertainment, I wonder if we are not in the Middle Ages.
It is no different from a circus, you know, and we have got rid of our circuses with wild animals,’ the presenter told The Mirror.
The 58-year-old said: ‘I have never met Ant and Dec but if I did, I would be chatting about it.’
In 2014 he described the trials as ‘undermining a respect for life’ in an open letter to hosts Ant and Dec.
And he added how he sill wants to meet with the duo to raise his concerns.
Emily Atack on the ITV show I’m a Celebrity in a Bushtucker trial last year. Chris Packham said the trials are like something from the Middle Ages
‘People make a lot of money out of this but people made a lot of money out of child labour and slavery other unpleasant things and it didn’t continue when they realised they were wrong, he added.
A Bushtucker trial is when the competitors have to compete in order to win meals for their campmates. The more stars they win, the more meals they have.
Previous trials have included putting live insects in the celebrity’s mouth, lying underground with snakes and eating spiders.
Ant and Dec on the hit ITV show I’m a Celebrity which is filmed in New South Wales, Australia
An ITV spokesman said: ‘I’m A Celebrity complies with all national and regional laws concerning the use of insects, animals and reptiles.’