I’m A Celebrity Bosses Ban Live Insects From Bushtucker Trials After Backlash From Animal Rights Groups.

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! bosses ‘banned the use of live insects for bushtucker trials’ after facing backlash from animal rights activists.

According to reports, the apparent change to the format of the show will remain a permanent fixture.

‘They have been planning this for some time,’ an insider claimed to the Mirror. ‘And actually, last year beach worms were the only critters eaten live but this time around they’ve decided to implement the change fully and permanently.’

This comes just days after animal rights activist Tayana Simons wrote a piece for Metro.co.uk calling for the use of all live animals in the programme’s trials to be banned.

In the column, Tayana writes: ‘Not only does this harm the animals involved, but it also normalises animal cruelty to audiences of millions, including young children.

‘This isn’t just a view shared by animal rights organisations such as Viva! which has campaigned against the show since it began, celebrities such as Chris Packham and Lucy Watson have also voiced their opposition to the use of animals in the trials.

‘The horrific scene of celebrity Ferne McCann eating a live spider received a massive 1,500 viewer complaints, while in 2010 the show was fined by the RSPCA in Australia for killing and cooking a rat purely for entertainment.

‘The Bushtucker Trials epitomise a flippant disregard for non-human animal life which does not belong in this century. They need to end.

 ‘If the animals used in the show were socially valued animals such as cats or dogs, there would be an uproar at scenes of them being grabbed and flung by the neck, tossed around in overcrowded caves or having their body parts eaten on live TV.’

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