Gino D'Acampo

Gino D'Acampo

Two stars from the British program I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! have been charged with animal cruelty, reports CBC. The winner of the competition, Italian chef Gino D’Acampo, and actor Stuart Manning are being charged in connection with an incident in which they allegedly cooked a rat while the show was being filmed in Australia.

“The Australian RSPCA are currently investigating an incident that a rat was killed in the camp,” said the show’s producer, ITV, in a statement.

The pair are to appear in court Feb. 3 and could face up to three years in prison.

“The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable,” said David O’Shannessy of the New South Wales RSPCA. He said animal welfare officers are required on sets where animals are used, and this procedure was not followed in the rat incident.

“I saw one of those rats running around,” said D’Acampo, who had to survive on rations of rice and beans during the three weeks the show was taping. “I got a knife, I got its throat, I picked it up.”

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! strands celebrities in remote locations and then has the public vote them off one at a time.






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