Chris Packham has written a letter to Ant and Dec, accusing I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! of exploiting animals.
In the missive, released on X (formerly Twitter), he states that this is not the first time he has tried to engage with the show’s presenters about animal welfare standards on the reality show, but that his previous “polite, reasonable and constructive” attempts were ignored so “this time I’ll be a little more frank and forthright”.
“I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! remains a grotesque blot on the reputations of both yourselves and ITV,” wrote Packham. “Its continued exploitation of animals for entertainment is an anachronistic embarrassment and betrays a dangerous disconnect between a world increasingly concerned with an environmental crisis, and a reckless… part of the media which doesn’t appear to give a shit.”
Hello , I’ve written another letter to @antanddec about the ongoing appalling abuse of animals on @ITV programme @imacelebrity . I’ve tried to be polite but my patience has run thin . If you agree with what it says please RT . #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/TBRCsL6Ucq
— Chris Packham (@ChrisGPackham) November 27, 2023
Packham claims that his letter – which has been viewed 1.3m times on X – is written in his personal capacity rather than in his role as the president of the RSPCA, but that last year the charity received 17,000 complaints about the show’s treatment of animals. He states that he and many RSPCA followers “are sick of your perceived disregard for animal welfare and the way that we feel about it”.
According to Packham, I’m a Celebrity … undermines the “fundamental respect for life” that is needed to convince people to take action against the climate crisis.
“What’s absolutely pitiful is that it does it for laughs. Just for amusement. Twenty-eight percent of the world’s monitored species are threatened with extinction. Is that funny? Is that a laugh?”
The wildlife broadcaster also claimed that viewing figures suggested that “maybe your viewers need a change of format,” due to the audience for I’m a Celebrity … tailing off from a November 2022 peak of 10 million to this year’s peak of 7.8 million.
“Look at the world, listen to the voices of concern, read the writing on the wall. Circuses have gone, dancing bears have gone, cock and dog fighting are the sad preserve of psychopathic criminals. We have no performing dolphins in the UK and no chimpanzees dressed up for tea time,” he said. “The cruel exploitation of wildlife for gratuitous entertainment on your programme continues to damage the great reputation of the UK as a ‘nation of animal lovers’.”
Instead of continuing the reality show’s “abuse of animals”, Packham suggests that the programme donate a percentage of profits to conservation charities, highlight their work and that Ant and Dec present a programme on the topic. “I’ll loan you my binoculars,” said the conservationist.
A spokesperson for I’m a Celebrity … responded to say that they comply with all laws regarding animal usage and have a strict environmental plan in place. “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,” they commented.
“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. 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.”
