I have had quite a few people msg me and ask what was the outcome of my attempt to complain with BBC/CBBC in regards to using live animals in one of their kids programs "Trapped Ever After"..
For those who dont know.. the show keeps live animals in small glass jars.. this includes rabbits etc...
I contacted BBC/CBBC several times sending my strong concern on the message this show is sending to the public on the standards of how should treat animals and what conditions it is accepted to keep them in.. I felt (and still feel) this show is sending the wrong message and is exploiting animals in an irresponsible way for the sake of 'entertaining' our children.
I contacted around 30 animal rights groups around Britain and many have tried contacting BBC/CBBC as well putting in their concerns.. One of my contacts recently recieved a reply from BBC.. which I too just received. Anyways.. for the people who contacted me and wanted to know the update.. this is what I recieved from them recently..
Please read the following reply:
Reference CAS-770608-JR5TYT
Thank you for your further comments about ‘Trapped Ever After’. We raised your concerns with those responsible for managing this content on CBBC and they pass the following response:
"Responsible pet-ownership, animal-welfare and safe animal-handling are all issues which CBBC is wholeheartedly committed to. At any given point during the year there are numerous shows on CBBC which not only introduce children to the wonders of the animal kingdom but also explain to our audience how both wild & domestic animals should be treated, cared for & respected
Wildlife is one of the key themes in the CBBC schedule and shows such as 'Animals At Work', 'Roar', 'Deadly 60', 'Live & Deadly' & 'Blue Peter' all take an approach to animals that both celebrates their diversity yet teaches the audience about appropriate behaviour
However, we also believe that there is a place in the CBBC schedule for pure entertainment shows like 'Trapped' and occasionally in shows like this, animals may feature in a less 'educational' environment. We believe that the audience who enjoy 'Trapped' are able to differentiate between real-life situations and the fantastical world portrayed in this series. Imitable-behaviour is an issue that all programme-makes at CBBC take very seriously but as the game in question took place in a mythical, fantasy location and featured a character based on a fairy-tale witch, we felt that it was extremely unlikely that children would either believe her conduct to be acceptable or want to imitate her
The game in which the animals appeared on 'Trapped' was only one of five games that appeared in this episode and across the entire series of 13 episodes the game only appeared 4 times. Of course, basing the entire format of 'Trapped' around games involving animals would probably be a different matter but on this occasion we felt that our decision was justified. We're very sorry that on this occasion you felt that we made the wrong decision."
If you believe a serious and specific breach of the BBC's Editorial Guidelines has occurred here, and you wish to pursue this complaint further, you can contact the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit, within 20 working days, and they will carry out an independent investigation.
You can write to them at the following address:
Editorial Complaints Unit
Room 5170
White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS
Alternatively you can e-mail the Unit at the address: , but please note that complaints submitted via e-mail must include a postal address as ECU findings are sent by letter.
Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.
Kind Regards
Andrew Hannah
BBC Complaints
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints
I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on their reply and what they think of the situation in general.. perhaps Im just over reacting? I don't think so.. but id like to know what others think of this?
