Rat-cooking singes TV show producers

Two stars of the English “reality” show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here”, may soon be saying, “Get me out of jail.”

Chef Gino D’Acampo, 33, and actor Stuart Manning, 30, were charged with cruelty to animals after animal welfare activists complained that the pair allegedly killed and cooked a rat to be eaten during filming the show in Australia. The show’s unnamed producer confirmed that that "the New South Wales RSPCA are currently looking into an incident in which a rat was killed in the camp." David O'Shannessy of the New South Wales RSPCA told the British Broadcasting Corp:

"The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable. The concern is this was done purely for the cameras."

Producers of such shows are normally required to have animal welfare officers on set when animals were used during filming, but in this case it did not take place, O’Shannessy said. D’Acampo and Manning are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 3, to face the charges brought against them, authorities said. If found guilty as charged, the pair could serve a maximum penalty of three years in prison, authorities said.