19,000 RSPCA supporters complained to ITV last year to blast for 'disgusting' use of animals on I'm a Celeb

ITV was hit with a barrage of complaints about animal welfare on I'm A Celebrity last year as 19,000 RSPCA supporters called out the show for its 'disgusting' treatment of animals.

Fans recently turned to social media to vent about the ITV series for using live animals, including birds and reptiles, as well as bugs 'in the name of entertainment'.

After a number of nail-biting, height-related trials that involved jumping off cliffs and hopping across bouncy balls at 2,000 ft in the air, Janice Dickinson, Shaun Ryder and Paul Burrell took part in the first animal-based task in the South African camp.

It involved sticking their hands into pockets full of rats, spiders and bugs and just two episodes in - and it seems like fans aren't too happy.

Viewers took to Twitter to slam how the animals were used in the trial.

One tweeted: "I see I'm A Celeb is still traumatising animals in the name of entertainment, but because they aren't cute and fluffy, people don't give a s**t."

And British Vets tweeted: "There's a place for animals in entertainment, but #ImACeleb is not it. We're calling on everyone to #SwitchOff the show if @itvstudios @imacelebrity hasn't taken our serious #AnimalWelfare concerns on board."

While another person said: "I hate this show. There is no need to use animals, it's disgusting."

The RSPCA also expressed ‘serious concerns’ about the welfare of the animals involved including bugs, snakes and rats used during the trials.

The organisation revealed that a record 19,000 of viewers complained about the show in 2022.

They tweeted before the opening episode: "As a new series of I'm A Celeb launches, we fear that year again we'll see live animals being exploited for entertainment purposes."

An ITV spokesperson told LADbible: "The team at I’m A Celebrity have many years of experience in producing the show and have rigorous protocols in place to ensure that animals are handled safely before, during and after filming, in compliance with all regional and national laws.

"Welfare and safety is always our primary priority."

This comes after a more trivial complaint about the new series, which is pre-recorded for the first time, with the LIVE clock having gone from the bottom left-hand corner, as Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, introduce links between segments and go into camp in the morning (local time) to announce who's been voted out.

Moments into the new South African series, viewers realised it was entirely pre-recorded with no live elements at all.

Devotees claim the show has lost its edge, as they can no longer see the results causing drama in real-time, or vote for celebrities to take on Bushtucker trials and the winner has already been crowned the 'legend'.

LADbible has reached out to ITV for comment.