I’m A Celebrity has been slammed by a leading animal rights charity over a trial that they claim caused ‘extreme stress, fear and trauma’ to various creatures.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are fuming after last night’s episode (April 27) of the hit ITV show saw Amir Khan take part in a task called Supermarket Shriek.
The boxer was given a shopping list of various creatures – or ‘bush nasties’ as hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly referred to them- that he had to get into his supermarket trolley.
Amir has to put his hand in various crates of critters and then put them in various boxes in his cart.
The charity particularly called out the portion of the task that featured live crabs and mini crocodiles, who were seen running away and snapping at Amir as he made grabs at them.
In a statement obtained exclusively by HOAR, PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen said: “Even if I’m a Celebrity producers were crammed into boxes and man-handled by shrieking monsters, it’s doubtful they’d finally have an empathy epiphany and understand that their little-boy pranks are not harmless: they cause extreme stress, fear, and trauma to the animals involved.
“The British public’s eyes are wide open to this abuse, and as all decent people would agree that children should be disciplined for such malicious behaviour, the punishment for this show is to never watch it, because as long as people tune in – even to shake their heads in horror – they’ll carry right on being cruel.”
Viewers at home weren’t impressed either.
One fumed on twitter: “I’m far from a woke bloke but you’ve gotta draw a line on the animal cruelty in these ridiculous challenges. Those crabs and crocs were obviously traumatised.”
A second chipped in: “Anyone else feeling a bit anxious with how these animals are being chucked around?”
A third said: “Not particularly impressed with how Amir is handling the animals.
A fourth weighed in: “I have to think this is somewhat cruel to the animals…”
And a fifth agreed, venting: “I don’t think all these animals appreciate being pushed/jolted around in tiny boxes on a trolley.”
When contacted by HOAR, a spokesperson for I’m A Celeb said: “The team at I’m A Celebrity have many years of experience in producing the show and have rigorous protocols in place to ensure that animals are handled safely before, during and after filming, in compliance with all regional and national laws.
“Welfare and safety is always our primary priority.”
