Gogglebox star claims Ant and Dec ignore Chris Packham's animal abuse warnings
Chris Packham 's step-daughter has hit out at I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and claimed the ITV reality show's hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly "ignore" warnings about animal abuse on the series.
Megan McCubbin, who is set to star alongside step-dad Chris, 62, on Celebrity Gogglebox, says the wildlife TV presenter has tried on numerous occasions to reach out to the stars and creators of the show to educate them on animal safety, but the Springwatch presenters concern go unaddressed.
Chris branded I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! medieval for using animals in their trials last year, around the same time animal rights charity PETA urged Geordie duo Ant & Dec to step down from hosting the long-running programme, over the trials which use animals.
Since the star-studded reality TV series began in 2002, many of the infamous Bushtucker Trials have involved the use of rats, snakes, spiders and other jungle critters as well as live insects during the eating challenges. ITV has previously said that welfare and safety is always the primary priority on their programmes, and they have rigorous protocols in place to make sure the animals are handled safely.
Megan McCubbin stars alongside her step-dad in a new series of Celebrity Gogglebox (Instagram/c4gogglebox)Ahead of her Celebrity Gogglebox debut - and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! returning later this year - Chris' step-daughter Megan has explained why she will never sign up for a stint in the jungle and admitted she boycotts the reality TV series hosted by Ant and Dec.
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Chatting about the ITV show with OK! she said: "They do a lot of things that I would class as animal abuse. Eating bugs alive is awful! They could do some really funny challenges that don’t have to involve animal exploitation." The 28-year-old Springwatch presenter went on to detail how her step-dad has tried to change the show over the years.
"Chris is a massive advocate for changing the show and has sent a lot of open letters to Ant and Dec saying ‘would you consider stopping animal abuse on your show?’ but it has been ignored every single time," she revealed, adding: "I boycott that show - I don’t follow it, and I don’t watch it." The Mirror has approached representatives for Ant and Dec for comment on this story.
Animals were forced to take part in trials with the likes of Matt Hancock last year (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Last year, over 19,000 people signed the RSPCA's petition as the animal welfare charity campaigned for I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! to re-think how they use animals for entertainment. The petition was titled: Unhappy campers: I'm a Celeb Stop the use of live creatures on ITV's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here."
Writing on its website at the time, the RSPCA said: "Having returned for its 22nd season, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here is one of ITV's most anticipated reality shows. It's also one of the most worrying. Every year, we are faced with serious concerns about the use of animals, including snakes, insects and other live creatures during the filming of the show.
"Since 'I'm a Celebrity' was first aired, animals have been dropped, thrown, handled roughly, crushed, chased, overcrowded, scared by contestants and prevented from escaping from stressful experiences. With this year's series return to Australia, we're more concerned than ever about the use of live animals on the show and the example it sets for viewers."
ITV has always claimed that it adheres to animal welfare laws while filming I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and last year, responded to criticism, saying: "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."
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