BBC Winterwatch hit by cruelty complaints after graphic clip of dead animal airs
Viewers of BBC's Winterwatch have furiously hit out at show producers after the latest episode showed footage of a dead animal.
The episode which viewers slammed as 'shocking' saw BBC presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan set up an infra-red camera at the RSPB Arne nature reserve. The pair set up the cameras in a bid capture footage of night animals feeding during the early hours.
Presenters Chris and Michaela did manage to capture some night movements from the animals in Dorset, but viewers were less than impressed with what they saw, and deemed the footage as 'animal cruelty' given that dead animals were shown during the 'shocking' clips.
Speaking to viewers at home, presenters Chris and Michaela dubbed the footage they had captured as a 'carcass cam' after a nocturnal fox was seen eating the body of a dead deer. BBC fans were left horrified by the clip, and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to hit out at show bosses for showing the controversial video.
Viewers hit out at BBC producers (BBC/Jo Charlesworth)As the video played out, viewers could hear Michaela say: "Then at night, visited by a fox. This is exactly what we’d expect to come to this carcass and I’m sure over the next few days we’ll be getting more foxes. It looks nervous but remember, this is pitch black. This is an infra-red camera.
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"It gets its confidence, sniffs around a bit and takes a massive mouthful, and runs away. I think we’re going to get a lot of action on that camera, I feel very positive about it," she added.
After the footage aired, furious BBC viewers hit out at the 'shocking' clip. "Why on earth would they show that on TV. That poor deer. Feel sick after seeing that," one fumed. While another complained: "Where did you get the dead deer from? I hope it wasn’t killed for the sake of a TV show."
"Trying to eat my dinner and a rotting dead deer carcass is shown on Winterwatch and being eaten by a greedy fox. Lovely bit of viewing to turn me off my tea," someone else quipped.
It comes after BBC star Chris told how security on Winterwatch has been beefed up because of “specific threats” against him. The BBC wildlife show, presented by Chris, Michaela, and Iolo Williams, was broadcast from RSPB Arne in Dorset this week. And climate change campaigner Chris has told how they aren’t taking any chances after two threats in the past month alone.
The presenter is allocated a bodyguard who accompanies him during and after filming. He said: “A couple of times recently, before the Watches, we’ve had specific threats for me. So we’ve had a person who’s there and stays at the hotel, and then goes with me to the place.”
Chris opened up about heightened security on the show (BBC/Jo Charlesworth)Chris, whose gates at his New Forest home were firebombed in October, 2021, said he had reported the most recent threats to the police. He added: “We have had several threats recently that are not death threats but they’re saying, ‘We’re going to harm you.’
"And they come, unbelievably, from emails. We’ve got the person’s email address, obviously, I’ve reported them to the police. I haven’t heard back from the police but they’ve acknowledged receipt of them. So we’ve had two in the last month, saying, ‘I’m going to harm you and harm your family.’”
Chris said police have hit a brick wall with the car-bomb outside his house, although he thinks it relates to his opposition of fox hunting. He said: “They know who these people are – ish. They don’t know precisely which person it is but they said that, you know, sometimes these things play out over a couple of years, because eventually they might fall out with one another, and then they will grass one another up, they are career criminals.
“The police described them as career criminals and on that account, they were probably paid to do the job. And they didn’t come from anywhere around here. They came from somewhere quite far off.”
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