A HAMPSHIRE wildlife expert has slammed what he calls the “abuse of animals” on a hit celebrity reality television show.

TV presenter Chris Packham has penned an open letter to Ant and Dec, presenters of hit ITV show I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!, calling for them to reconsider the show’s use of animals in its much-talked-about bushtucker trials.

Springwatch host and Really Wild Show presenter Chris described the trials as “barbaric” and “silly” and said that the show – which sees stars face creepy crawlies in various trials – was undoing the work of natural history programmes.

In the open letter, published in Radio Times magazine, he accused the show of teaching young viewers that killing for “exploitative ‘entertainment’ is acceptable”.

Chris, who grew up in Southampton, said that the trials “undermined a respect for life, which ... impacts negatively upon conservation ... and ... spoils the show because it’s simply out of date, some would say barbaric.”

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Wildlife presenter Chris Packham

The 53-year-old added: “It’s often pretty silly too, because many viewers recognise that the species used are not dangerous, or significantly toxic or venomous in the first place.

“Or that they’ve been ‘doctored’, their fangs sealed, their jaws bound so, even under the stress they’re exposed to, they couldn’t possibly harm any of your guests.”

Chris, who now lives in the New Forest, wrote that some of these animals were already misunderstood and vilified.

“By orchestrating a fear of them among your contestants, I’m afraid you’re reinforcing and exaggerating a terrible ignorance and intolerance of these remarkable animals,” he said.

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Chris dismissed the programme’s use of consultants on animal welfare, saying: “I can guarantee that some animals are harmed during production, because they are fragile or easily stressed. Or simply killed, as they are in your bushtucker trials. You should put an end to this inhumane, embarrassing and destructive aspect of an otherwise great show.”

The show returns on Sunday with a line-up in Australia including Allo Allo! actress Vicki Michelle and former motorcycle world champion Carl Fogarty.

ITV said: “Ant and Dec are the presenters of the show, and as such are not involved with the formatting of the trials, which are devised by the show’s producers.

“ITV takes animal welfare very seriously and expert handlers are on hand at all times.”

This is not the first time that Chris has taken action in the name of animals.

Earlier this year he joined a protest against the illegal killing of hen harriers ahead of the grouse shooting season in the Peak District, and the Daily Echo also reported how he had been questioned by police in Malta for five hours after a confrontation with hunters shooting migratory birds.