welsh rare bits
I’m A Celeb in police probe over fears non-native critters have escaped into Welsh countryside
I'M A Celebrity is being investigated by police over fears critters have escaped into the Welsh countryside.
The non-native wildlife could have escaped into the countryside surrounding Gwrych castle in North Wales during Bushtucker Trials.
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Rural crime officers from north Wales police are looking into complaints that cockroaches, maggots, spiders and worms could have escaped, .
The non-native critters could cause irreversible damage to the wildlife in the 250 acre estate surrounding the castle where the show is being held this year.
It is just a stone's throw from Coed y Gopa - protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Normally the ITV show is filmed in Australia but the crew - and their critters - were forced to relocate to Wales by the coronavirus pandemic.
Police are now investigating after complaints made by the TV presenter and naturalist Iolo Williams.
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"I’m not sure which species they’re releasing, but I can tell you they’re not native," Iolo, 58, said.
"We don’t have those cockroaches here in the UK and we certainly don’t have them in north Wales."
Iolo insisted that althought the Bushtucker Trials take place in a contained environment, contestants carry insects back to camp with them.
"There are going to be cockroaches in every nook and cranny along their bodies, you’re going to tell me that every single one of those is found immediately? Of course it’s not," he added.
A spokesperson for ITV said: "They are only ever released in a contained area and collected immediately after filming.
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"They are all purchased commercially within the UK and are normally bred as animal food."
A source added: “Contestants shake themselves down over the grate to collect any leftovers.”
Releasing species without a licence would breach the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Police said: “The matter is being investigated by our rural crime team.”
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