ITV apologizes for ‘I’m a Celebrity’ rat killing

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken action against two celebrity contestants for apparently killing, cooking and eating a rat on ITV1's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!. Gino D'Acampo, the eventual winner of I'm a Celebrity and contestant Stuart Manning both face criminal charges for animal cruelty. According to Chief Inspector David O'Shannessy, of the New South Wales RSPCA, 'There is a code of conduct in New South Wales that dictates how animals can be used. The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable.' ITV has apologized and has vowed to change the show's guidelines to ensure it won't happen again.

December 7, 2009

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken action against two celebrity contestants that apparently killing, cooking and eating a rat on ITV1′s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!. Gino D’Acampo, the eventual winner of I’m a Celebrity and contestant Stuart Manning both face criminal charges for animal cruelty. According to Chief Inspector David O’Shannessy, of the New South Wales RSPCA, ‘There is a code of conduct in New South Wales that dictates how animals can be used. The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable.’ ITV has apologized and has vowed to change the show’s guidelines to ensure it won’t happen again.

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About The Author

Barry Walsh is editor and content director for realscreen, and has served as editor of the publication since 2009. With a career in entertainment media that spans two decades, prior to realscreen, he held the associate editor post for now defunct sister publication Boards, which focused on the advertising and commercial production industries. Before Boards, he served as editor of Canadian Music Network, a weekly music industry trade, and as music editor for HMV.com. As content director, he also oversees the development of content for the brand's market-leading events, the Realscreen Summit and Realscreen West, as well as new content initiatives.

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