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ITV fined over rat killing
08/02/2010
ITV has been fined £1,670 for cruelty to animals by a court in Australia following events shown on reality show "I'm A Celebrity …" last December.
Gino D'Acampo and Stuart Manning starred in the show, with the former going on to be crowned as its winner.
The pair caught a rat in their camp then went on to kill it and feed it to the rest of their team mates.
Producers gave the TV chef and soap star the go-ahead to slaughter the rodent, but were unaware that this contravened animal rights laws.
ITV went on to apologise for the error and paid the fine. According to a spokesperson: "The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal or otherwise in New South Wales, and accepts that further enquiries should have been made."
D'Acampo served up the animal after cutting its throat.
More humane methods of rodent extermination include electromagnetic pest control devices.
By Neil Hill
