Broadcaster fined for animal cruelty in Australia after reality show contestants kill, eat rat
By Tanalee Smith, The Associated Press
ADELAIDE, Australia – A British broadcaster has been convicted of animal cruelty after two reality show contestants skinned, cooked and ate a rat during filming in Australia.
ITV Studios, producer of “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here,” was fined 3,000 Australian dollars ($2,615) after pleading guilty Monday, the Australian RSPCA said Tuesday.
The RSPCA filed a complaint in December against show participants chef Gino D’Acampo and actor Stuart Manning who prepared the risotto-and-rat meal on the wilderness show late last year.
Animal activists said the rat squealed in apparent pain and took more than 90 seconds to die.
