Ant and Dec urged to quit I'm A Celeb over 'cruelty' days before new series starts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ant and Dec have been urged to quit I'm A Celebrity just days before the latest series kicks off.The hosting duo have starred in the show for over two decades, and will return for this season which features Boy George and Mike Tindall among others.

A fan-favourite feature of the show is the Bushtucker trials, but a letter has recently hit out, calling the trials "cruel".

Not only that, the scathing letter also calls 46-year-old Ant and Dec, 47 "complicit". The letter was written by animal rights organisation PETA and calls for the two to quit the show.The ITV programme features various challenges that include snakes, insects and other animals, and PETA claim that these animals are "tormented" for the sake of entertainment.As reported by The Echo Online, the letter, from PETA's Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen, addresses Ant and Dec directly and states: "For 20 years, you have been complicit in the 'bushtucker trials', standing by as animals of all descriptions are tormented – and even killed – for TV ratings."In this time, you must surely have become aware of the suffering, discomfort, and fear that these unwilling participants endure during the challenges.

Ostriches, crocodiles, snakes, rats, and thousands of insects have been exploited for the show’s puerile pranks – and we fear that the upcoming series will be no different."The note also adds that the show could come up with "clever and captivating tasks that harm no animals".It then urges Ant and Dec to make the upcoming All Stars series of I'm A Celeb their last and says the move "would signal to the show’s producers that people aren’t going to stand for senseless cruelty to animals anymore and that it’s time to change".The letter ends with: "So please, hang