I'm a celebrity get me out of here - new challenge
Dec 5th 2009, 9:54 pm
#1
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,808
I'm a celebrity get me out of here - new challenge
TWO stars of a British celebrity reality TV show filmed in the Australian bush have been charged with animal cruelty by New South Wales police.
Celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo, who won the I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here TV contest, and soap star Stuart Manning were arrested and charged after cooking a rat and serving it with rice as a meal for fellow contestants.
D'Acampo, 33, and Manning, 30, were confronted by RSPCA officers after filming ended late last week on the TV show's set near Dungay in north eastern NSW.
The News of the World newspaper and the BBC reported the pair were questioned about how they caught and beheaded the rat before adding it to a risotto.
They were both charged with animal cruelty offences by Murwillumbah police and ordered to appear in court on February 3.
If found guilty, the pair face up to three years in jail. The ITV network, which broadcasts the program in Britain, could also face charges.
RSPCA NSW chief inspector David O'Shannessy said it was unacceptable for the rat to have been killed for a TV show.
He said there was a "code of practice" dictating how animals could be used in theatrical productions and films.
"The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"The concern is this was done purely for the cameras.
Celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo, who won the I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here TV contest, and soap star Stuart Manning were arrested and charged after cooking a rat and serving it with rice as a meal for fellow contestants.
D'Acampo, 33, and Manning, 30, were confronted by RSPCA officers after filming ended late last week on the TV show's set near Dungay in north eastern NSW.
The News of the World newspaper and the BBC reported the pair were questioned about how they caught and beheaded the rat before adding it to a risotto.
They were both charged with animal cruelty offences by Murwillumbah police and ordered to appear in court on February 3.
If found guilty, the pair face up to three years in jail. The ITV network, which broadcasts the program in Britain, could also face charges.
RSPCA NSW chief inspector David O'Shannessy said it was unacceptable for the rat to have been killed for a TV show.
He said there was a "code of practice" dictating how animals could be used in theatrical productions and films.
"The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"The concern is this was done purely for the cameras.
