BBC newsreader blasted after joking about a colleague KILLING rodent running around newsroom
The newsreader tweeted a picture of the mouse moments before his colleague stamped it to death
A BBC newsreader is embroiled in a row after joking about a colleague stamping on a mouse.
Radio 2’s James Kelly tweeted a snap of the rodent at the BBC HQ before its death.
Later in an update, he said a World Service worker had killed it “with his boot!” as it would have “chewed through cables”, adding: “RIP #newsmouse.”
But the joke turned sour when one of his Twitter followers wrote: “That is cruelty and against the law.”
Kelly replied: “I didn’t approve either but I guess it was quicker than a trap or poison.”
The reply failed to satisfy “Tina”, who hit back: “It’s illegal. Happy to notify RSPCA.”
When he accused her of lacking perspective, adding that cats usually torment mice for entertainment before killing them, she hit back: “You are trying to excuse the inexcusable. “The action wasn't okay on any level.”
Animal welfare groups joined in the criticism last night, with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals even urging an official investigation.
Peta UK director Elisa Allen said: “Mice may be tiny, but they certainly feel pain, just as any dog or child does. They deserve compassion – or, at the absolute least, to be treated humanely – not to be stamped on by someone acting like a lout.
“Just as using glue traps to kill mice is hideously cruel, so, too, is stamping on them. Effective long-term solutions for keeping rodents away from buildings always involve modifying the environment to make it a less desirable place to find food – including by sealing holes in walls.
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“PETA will be sending the BBC a humane rodent trap so that any unwanted guests can be gently caught and released, unharmed, outdoors – which is a solution that everyone, including the mice, can live with.
New Broadcasting House in central London has been plagued by rodents since it opened in 2013.
Journalists were told dealing with the rodents was the “top priority” of building managers and they should call a hotline every time one was spotted.
Kelly and the BBC were contacted for comment.
-A previous version of this story implied that James Kelly was called "cruel" for his tweet about the mouse's death. In fact the act of killing the mouse by a colleague was called "cruelty". We have corrected this and apologise for any offence caused.