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Chris Packham has hit out at Jeremy Clarkson once again after becoming embroiled in a public feud with the former Top Gear host.
The BBC wildlife presenter, 65, last week accused Clarkson, 66, of sharing an unrealistic view of farms on his Clarkson’s Farm show on Amazon Prime.
“That’s not what a farm looks like. Most farms are horrible monocultures which have been sprayed with deadly chemicals, time and time again, the ground pumped full of fertiliser, and loads of the animals are indoors – in crates, being crushed and kept in the dark,” he said on Celebrity Gogglebox.
“That’s an idealistic view of a farm, and it puts the wrong idea in people’s minds. And that’s only the [opening titles]!”
Clarkson clapped back at the Springwatch host in his Sun column, writing: “The endlessly angry Chris Packham went on Gogglebox this week and erupted in blind fury about the Winnie the Pooh-ish opening credits to my farming programme.
“Now, of course this kind of stuff plays well in a room full of nose rings and Palestine flags at a vegan activist meeting in Hackney. But he was on a television programme, and it didn’t play well at all. Because it’s b*****ks.”
Chris Packham PA WireHe then claimed Packham had spent some time at his Diddly Squat Farm more than a decade ago, maintaining: “If there had been some animals in a crate, being crushed, I’m sure he would have noticed and said something.”
Packham has now doubled down on his comments, insisting “Clarkson is being disingenuous” and saying “industrial farmers are making a smokescreen to hide their horrors”.
“I made the comments about the silly idealistic stereotyped cartoon at the top of his programme, he knows that. And he knows it paints an entirely unrealistic image of most of [the UK’s farms],” he said in a statement to HuffPost.
“The industrial farming fraternity love Clarkson’s Farm because it gives them something pretty to hide behind, a friendly flagship of good ol’ wholesome values. The truth is so very different, and it’s a truth that needs to be told for the sake of animal welfare, wildlife, human health and a secure environmental future.”
He added: “They can shoot at the messenger, but they will not silence the truth, even if Jezza has a big mouth.”
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The Standard has contacted Clarkson’s representative for comment.
Jeremy Clarkson PA ArchivePackham is an outspoken activist for animal rights, environmental protection and climate change.
He was appointed a CBE for his services to nature conservation in 2019.
In May, he called for the government to ban trail and fox hunting and spoke at a protest of 300 people in Westminster organised by the League Against Cruel Sports.
“I’m now 65-years old, and I cannot believe that I’m standing here, and this is still going on. We elected a government with a massive majority and a manifesto pledge to stop fox hunting,” he told PA.
“But two years into that term of government, and nothing has happened. They’ve had a consultation, which most of us consider unnecessary, given that at least 80% of the British public want an end to this hideous, sociopathic practice.
“You would think it would take this opportunity and see it as low-hanging fruit, to satisfy not just the assembled mass of people here who have a deep-rooted concern about the health and wellbeing of our environment and all of this wildlife, but the other huge numbers of people that represent that 80%.”
Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan, 79, joined Packham and condemned the “narcissistic psychopaths” who want to hunt with dogs.
Packham has also repeatedly called out the ITV jungle competition I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here for using live animals in their Bushtucker challenges.