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Gino D'Acampo, winner of ITV’s ludicrous Austrialian-jungle based popularity contest ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ and fellow contenstant Stuart Manning face criminal charges of animal cruelty after killing, cooking and eating a rat on the reality show.

The pair were part of an “exiled” group for part of the series and as such were only allowed tiny rations of rice and beans to eat. They asked the show’s production staff if they could kill and eat a rat to supplement their evening meal and were told that they were allowed to do so.

Following the rat killing, officials from the New South Wales Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it would take action and the police recently issued “attendance notices” for D’Acampo and Manning to appear in court on February 3.

Chief Inspector David Oshannessy, of the New South Wales RSPCA, said it was unacceptable for an animal to be killed as part of a performance.

"The allegation is that an animal was cruelly treated on the set," he added. "It was a rat that was killed.

"There is a code of conduct in New South Wales that dictates how animals can be used. The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable."

A spokesman for ITV said: “Having sought health and safety advice, the go-ahead was given purely on this basis, when it became clear that there would not be any harmful effects of eating a properly prepared and cooked rat.

"The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal or otherwise, in New South Wales and accepts that further inquiries should have been made – this was an oversight.

"ITV apologises for this error, and to the celebrities concerned, and will put in place procedures for next year's series to ensure that this cannot happen again."

Source: Guardian