28 February 2024 , 16:35
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Winterwatch presenter Chris Packham seems like an unlikely candidate for needing a bodyguard.
But after a string of death threats, online insults and attacks on his home, new abuse over Christmas left him with no choice but to accept protection while filming the BBC show. “I will never be silenced,” says 62-year-old Chris, who has campaigned extensively for environmental issues such as the bans on fox hunting and the shooting of birds in the UK previously considered to be pests (crows, wood pigeons, jays etc). The latter led to two dead crows being hung outside his house in a sinister retaliation.
A key voice in the war against climate change and a supporter of Extinction Rebellion, last year Chris made headlines by asking whether it is now ethically acceptable to break the law in protesting against government climate policies.
His views, while supported by many, have met with anger in others happy to watch the world burn. “I am still getting harassed. It waxes and wanes in terms of its frequency and ferocity,” says Chris, who lives in Hampshire. “Christmas wasn’t great - we had a number of online incidents being investigated by police.
“Perhaps rather sadly, it’s something that my partner Charlotte and my stepdaughter (Megan McCubbin, a zoologist who co-presents Springwatch with Packham) have become accustomed to now. It’s certainly not going to intimidate us. Our world needs our help. Animals don’t have a voice. We’re going to continue because we have no choice - what we’re doing is the right thing to do.
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
Chris has addressed the attacks (Paul Carter)
He says the family won't be intimidated (PA)“There are unfortunately too few people with the apparent moral aptitude to stand up and put their heads above the parapet. I can’t stop. I owe it to myself and I owe it to all those things out there that slither and slide that I love so much. Also, I’m 62, I’m running out of time – I have to work harder than ever before.”
Despite the dire circumstances for the planet, with biodiversity loss at an all time high and record temperatures around the globe, Chris, who began his TV career on The Really Wild Show, remains positive. “I do still have hope. We’re in a pretty bad place. But if we look at the history of the way humans confront issues like this – enormous global stressors like the Second World War which put the whole world through so much – we see that our reaction to that - advances in medicine, communication and so on - was profound. We’re not great at prevention, but we’re good at cure.”
A tipping point is coming, says Chris. “When we realise we’re all in grave danger when it comes to climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, then we will - as we have done before - turn things around. We have got the tools at our disposal to help, we just don’t have the public or political will to be doing it broadly and rapidly enough now. Everyone plays a part – pupils, teachers, parents, community members. Eventually national and global governments will listen.”
Nature, says Chris, looks after itself as long as we allow it to. “All creatures play a functional role in the maintenance of our eco systems and therefore our planet. They keep it safe, secure and sustainable. But nature is on the back foot at the moment. We need proactivity – restoring, repairing, reinstating, reintroducing.
“Young people are beginning to understand that, and theirs will be the generation that will have to do most of the donkey work. We’ve come up with lots of the skills, the technologies. We’ve tried and tested them but haven’t implemented them – yet.”
It’s all worth it, says Chris, author of new children’s book Superhero Animals. “At 62 I am still constantly surprised by our amazing planet and all the creatures on it - from parasites to parakeets. I’ll keep fighting. Whether I’m a hero or not, I’ll leave that for others to judge.”
- Superhero Animals by Chris Packham & illustrated by Anders Frang (£9.99, Red Shed) is out now, as part of the new Little Experts series
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