TV show fined in Australia killing

TV show fined in Australia for killing

A British broadcaster convicted of animal cruelty two reality show contestants skinned, cooked and ate a rat during filming in Australia.

ITV Studios, producer that I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here and was fined 3,000 Australian dollars after pleading guilty Monday, the Australian RSPCA told 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.

ITVs guilty plea, the RSPCA decided to drop its complaints against D'Acampo and Manning, according to a statement from David O'Shannessy, chief inspector for the New South Wales state RSPCA. If convicted, the men could have faced up to three years in prison.

The conviction confirms that killing and preparing an animal for human consumption should not involve unnecessary pain, distress or suffering of the animal, O'Shannessy said.