I’m A Celeb slammed by charity for ‘using near-extinct animals’ for eating trials

I’M A Celebrity…South Africa has been slammed by a conservation charity over its use of near-extinct animals in the show’s eating trials. 

Challenges including Jordan Banjo and Janice Dickinson have utilised indigenous creatures like hartebeest antelopes and nguni cattle, which are classified as endangered species.

Local organisation Network for Animals have hit back over ITV’s use of the creatures. 

A spokesman exclusively told The Sun: “There are powerful reasons for why we are against it. 

"If your contestants or your viewer sees them eating hartebeest they’re going to think it’s alright, but it isn’t alright.

“It’s encouraging something that is to the overall determinant of the animals because you’re going to encourage them to be wiped out. 

"It’s something we would not support at all, we are opposed to it. 

"You’re dealing with endangered species and you’re encouraging people to kill and eat them for the pot and you mustn’t do that. 

"But in essence, Network for Animals is opposed to this on I'm A Celebrity because it sends a really bad message that it’s OK to eat wild animals that may well be endangered.

“In some - many - cases we need as many wild animals to survive as we can possibly get. We strongly oppose it.”

During the Bush Banquet trial in episode two, Janice had to scoff a plate dubbed Sto-mac & Cheese, which was a piece of hartebeest stomach. 

Hartebeest is an African antelope, with several of the category considered endangered. 

While it is not known which species ITV production used for the trials, Bubal hartebeest were declared extinct in 1994, Swayne’s and Lelwel hartebeest are listed as endangered and Tora hartebeest are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

Less threatened species include the red hartebeest, which is said to be flourishing in some areas of Africa including Eswatinit yet declining in southwestern Botswana. 

Both the supermodel and Jordan Banjo had to share a dish called E-tongue Mess which was made of an nguni cow’s tongue.

The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation listed Nguni as an endangered breed in 2017, and said there were only 1,000 pure breeding cows remaining. 

In 2020, a Nguni bull was sold for R310,000 - some £13,000 - breaking the previous record.

Nguni cattle are heat and light tolerant and can handle extreme heat and cold alike and are considered 

A spokesman for I’m A Celebrity declined to comment. There is no suggestion the celebrities on the show are aware of the animals background.

It comes after the show’s inaugural winner Tony Blackburn slammed the eating trials, branding them “disgusting” and saying he now switched off during the challenges.