 ITV has apologised after a rat was killed and cooked during this
year's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
It also said it would tighten up its procedures. The producers will
not face charges over alleged animal cruelty on the show, Australian
police have said. However charges are being brought against the winner,
chef Gino D'Acampo and contestant Stuart Manning after they cooked a rat
to eat. The pair have been ordered to appear in court on 3 February
2010.
The RSPCA in New South Wales said it was not acceptable an
animal had been killed as part of a performance.
The production was asked if a rat could be caught and eaten by the
celebrities in exile camp to supplement the basic rations they had been
provided with for their evening meal, said a spokesman for ITV.
Having sought health and safety advice, the go-ahead was given purely on
this basis... the production was unaware that killing a rat could be an
offence.
He added that ITV accepted that further inquiries should have been
made. ITV apologises for this error, and to the celebrities
concerned, and will put in place procedures for next year's series to
ensure that this cannot happen again.
During the series, the contestants were divided into two groups, one
of which was in exile with meagre rations. D'Acampo decided to
kill and eat the rat to add meat to the group's meal. He told the show's
video diary room, the Bush Telegraph: It's not done by choice but
it's done because we need it. We need some kind of protein, we need some
kind of flavour. I saw one of these rats running around. I got a knife,
I got its throat, I picked it up.
Fellow contestant George Hamilton spoke out in defence of D'Acampo,
telling the Daily Mirror that ITV producers had given them permission to
eat the rodent.
The actor said: I went into the Bush Telegraph and said, 'May we
eat a rat?' They were a bit shocked, thought about it and then said we
could. It was a very good dinner.
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