Rat Eaten on Show Costs Station $2,600

(AP)  A British broadcaster has been convicted of animal cruelty after two reality show contestants skinned, cooked and ate a rat during filming in Australia.

ITV Studios, producer of "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here," was fined 3,000 Australian dollars ($2,615) after pleading guilty Monday, the Australian RSPCA said 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.

After ITV's 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.

ITV previously said producers had sought health and safety advice about eating the rat but failed to check whether killing it was legal.

"I'm a Celebrity" strands C-list celebrities in the Australian wilderness, subjects them to trials involving spiders and snakes, and allows the public to vote them off the show one by one.

[olmon]

They should have eaten it alive, I guess. That would have been legal?? What is this all coming too?? It is getting so that there are more people needing to be slapped then there are people to slap them.

[scallywag12]

Next time use a Fly Swatter.

[dwilson59]

Meat is murder but better with bacon.

[zootsuithap]

we deserve global warming. pathetic bunch of pantywaste...

[Brokennews]

Fine! Next time just shoot the rats with a .306 from a helicopter! It's the sporting thing to do. Or for an even fight, give the rat a knife & the person a knife & put them in a cage. Two walk in, one walks out. Fair!

[pete_in_az]

.308 or .303, 306 was probably a bad mopar engine or something out of the '70's.

[laxboy10]

its a RAT, who cares

[Imadinnerjacket]

what about the poor live lobsters thrown in hot water??

hahahah

[rwsmith29456]

Yeah, my job was standing at the pot of boiling crabs and poke them back in when they tried to crawl out. I felt bad for the crabs but I continued to eat them.

[RoboBlogger]

I can not believe they ate those rats without hot sauce! What was for dessert? Cheese cake?

[roger_inkart]

Brother, all you rightwing morons just can't get enough of indignation, can you? I wonder what on earth would you do with your time if you couldn't just sit around being angry and indignant?

The broadcaster broke they law, and the authorities were compelled to see that they paid the penatly. It had nothing to do with tree-huggers, liberals, PETA or anything else.

Get over yourselves already. Find something constructive to do with your time then getting angry about us mean old liberals.

[alaskanjim]

They caught killed skinned and than ate this rat. If they had killed it and not eaten it these tree huggers might have a right to *****. Are they going to fine cats and other predators too? What waste of time and money.

[displeased]

We're a little smarter than cats. I think.