Animal rights protesters successful frog masks crashed an ITV shareholders gathering contiguous to protestation what they claimed was the suffering of animals connected I'm A Celebrity.
The amusement has used animals successful galore of their trials since its archetypal bid successful 2002. Celebrities person often had to devour carnal parts during immoderate of the trials with Katie Price and Kim Woodburn memorably chowing down connected food eyes, cockroaches and a kangaroo testicle successful the 2009 series.
In 2021 the amusement reportedly saw much than 13,000 complaints implicit the usage of animals with the RSPCA saying they are 'concerned' with the mode I'm A Celebrity 'portrays' animals.
Before they were frog-marched out, the protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) peacefully disrupted ITV's gathering successful London, telling the broadcaster's shareholders animals 'deserve amended than to beryllium utilized successful cruel stunts'.
Holding a banner that read 'ITV: It's Cruelty to Animals... Get It retired of I'm a Celeb!', the demonstrators Molly Elsdon and Lucy Ferguson, some 26, said: 'Animal maltreatment is not entertainment.
Animal rights radical PETA crashed an ITV shareholders gathering contiguous to protestation what they claimed was the suffering of animals connected I'm A Celebrity
Holding a banner that work 'ITV: It's Cruelty to Animals... Get It retired of I'm a Celeb!', the demonstrators Molly Elsdon and Lucy Ferguson, some 26, said: 'Animal maltreatment is not entertainment
Molly Eldson, 26, (pictured) took portion successful a protestation against Jet2 selling tickets to marine parks earlier this year
Her chap demonstrator Lucy Ferguson, besides 26, is a Digital Campaigns Officer astatine PETA
'Frogs and different animals merit amended than to beryllium utilized successful cruel stunts to boost TV ratings.
'ITV - drop carnal maltreatment from I'm A Celebrity. It's carnal suffering.
'Twenty-three years of cruelty is 23 years excessively long.'
After the objection today, Molly told MailOnline: 'Each play of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here brings further cruelty to our screens, arsenic animals of each descriptions proceed to beryllium bullied and adjacent killed for the show's tacky challenges.
'People are rightly outraged, and I anticipation today's enactment causes ITV executives to beryllium up, instrumentality announcement – and yet bash distant with the abusive stunts.'
During the protestation today, hopping huffy shareholders berated the carnal campaigners.
One antheral stood up and pointed astatine the 2 women successful frog masks, telling them: 'Can you unopen up? I've paid to travel here. Shut up.'
The protesters were frog-marched retired of the gathering by the meeting's security
ITV's main enforcement Dame Carolyn McCall was successful the gathering alongside ITV president Andy Cosslett, elder autarkic manager Edward Bonham Carter and non-executive manager Margaret Ewing
Emily Atack connected Series 18 of I'm A Celeb with her caput locked successful a bug-infested helmet
During the motorboat occurrence of past year's series, six of the campmates interacted with unrecorded animals specified arsenic snakes and bugs
Another said: '[This isn't] the close spot to bash this. Wait for questions later.'
PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner said: 'Over the past 23 seasons that I'm a Celebrity has been running, thousands of animals person suffered and died connected the show.
'PETA is calling connected ITV to extremity the usage of animals for the show's cruel, moronic stunts and urges it to yet nonstop the connection to viewers that carnal maltreatment is not acceptable oregon entertaining.'
A spokesperson for I'm A Celebrity said: 'As a production, we comply with each determination and nationalist laws concerning the usage of insects, animals and reptiles.
'Welfare and information is ever the superior precedence connected immoderate of our programmes and we pass the RSPCA NSW of each of our activities connected the amusement and they person an unfastened invitation to be the tract astatine immoderate time.
'We person rigorous protocols successful spot to guarantee that animals are handled safely astatine each times, before, during and aft immoderate filming has taken place, successful compliance with each determination and nationalist laws.'
English (US) ·