Launched in 1996 as part of Discovery Communications, Animal Planet has been the go-to channel for cute, cuddly and harmless animal entertainment. Even so, there are folks who tune into “The Puppy Bowl” each February who wonder if those little pooches are really having a good time performing a mock football game under the lights. Since then, Animal Planet has branched out with more than just adorable puppies and kittens, and have cashed in on the public’s appetite for shows featuring wild and exotic creatures. One show “Call of the Wildman” routinely depicted seemingly hilarious scenes like bats in a beauty parlor and one often cited episode where a deer trapped in a store was chased and captured by being tackled. How did the poor deer feel about all this? PETA says that this scene causes the deer emotional and physical distress.
PETA and other animal welfare organizations keep their eye on everything, especially the use of animals by the entertainment industry. A 2014 article on the Mother Jones website about one of Animal Planet’s most popular shows “Call of the Wildman” sparked a federal and state level through investigation. This article detailed how animals were put in dangerous positions and that basic animal welfare procedures were not followed. It took years to level a fine, all the way until March of 2017. but even before this “Call of the Wildman” and its host Ernie Brown aka “Turtleman” has been under scrutiny and weathering lots of scandals. “Call of the Wildman” was canceled in 2014 although video of prior episodes and of course “Turtleman” and company are still out there.
“Call of the Wildman” routinely depicted seemingly hilarious scenes like bats in a beauty parlor where Turtleman comes and saves the day and the trapped flying rodents. Sure, he’s not “Billy The Exterminator” Turtlemand is supposed to be there to help, but how this is achieved is suspect. One often cited episode where a deer trapped in a store was chased and captured by being tackled. How did the poor deer feel about all this? PETA says that this scene causes the deer emotional and physical distress.
Another accusation that the show denies is that “Call of the Wildman” gets the animals, puts them in that situation in the first place so that they can be “rescued” and gets rid of them afterward. The possibilities are horrifying.
According to a follow-up article on Mother Jones.com, a fine has been leveled at the producers of “Call of the Wildman” but animal rights activists say that the fines are paltry and do not address the most blatant instances of cruelty depicted on the show. Instead “Call of the Wildman” has mainly been fined by the USDA for not having the proper licenses in hand when they handled certain species. Had the show been fined for each incident of cruelty, the fines would have added up with $10,000 per violation. What could have been a 100,000 fine turned out to be a mere $1,400 settlement.
Delcianna Winders, from PETA’s legal team, says that the tiny fine will not deter shows like this from violating Animal protection laws in the future. Conversely, the show’s position is that these accusations are untrue. The Senior Vice President for Sharp Entertainment, the production company for “Call of the Wildman” fired back against these charges, pointing out that many shows depict killing animals, and their show is about protecting them.
As long as cable viewers are watching reality shows about animals, you can bet PETA will be watching too.
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