Fury over Jamie lamb killing

The animal had its legs tied together and was held to the ground with a cloth over its eyes. Oliver was shown saying: 'It's not quite like Sainsbury, is it? I do not know what to do.

'I do not know if I can do it, man. They want me to kill a lamb. I have never done that before.'

He was handed a small knife but was seen hesitating before the farmer guided his hand to where he should cut.

The camera showed the knife going into the lamb's neck before switching to the grimacing chef's face, then panned out and filmed the rest of the slaughter from a distance. When it focused back in, the lamb was dead.

In the UK animals must be killed on licensed premises and must first be stunned - normally with a bolt to the head.

However both the Jewish and Muslim faiths are exempt from this law because their religions demand animals are killed with a single cut to the throat.

Italians are allowed to kill animals in their own homes if it is for personal consumption but an EU directive states they must be prestunned. In this case, it was ignored.

Philip Lymbery, chief executive of Compassion In World Farming, said: 'It's disappointing that Jamie Oliver involved himself in the slaughter of an animal in such a way that fell far short of legal requirements and therefore caused unnecessary pain and suffering.'

A spokesman for Advocates For Animals said: 'If animals are to be killed for food it is widely acknowledged that the most humane way is for them to be stunned beforehand. This kind of brutal slaughter shows no compassion or respect for the poor animal.'

And John Beyer, of the pressure group Mediawatch, said: 'The slaughter of animals on television is something that would be shocking for young children. It might be all right for a butcher or a chef to see on television but to others it would be upsetting. Channel 4 should really have been a bit more intelligent about this.'

However, a spokesman for Oliver said: 'When put on the spot, Jamie felt that to kill one lamb out of the thousands that he has already cooked was an honest and important experience. It wasn't the easiest thing for him to do as you can see from the footage.

'The method of killing the lamb was one not out of the ordinary in rural Italy and one considered humane by all present.

'Jamie feels that the piece is an honest and powerful account of how meat is respected in Italy.

Italians consider animal welfare of the utmost importance. A large percentage of animals are reared organically rather than by battery methods.

'The hunters of the La Marche region have a much purer notion of the relationship between animals and meat than, say, a person who buys beefburgers on a weekly basis, without any consideration for how the animal in the products was raised or by the way in which they were killed.'

Gennaro Contaldo, the Italian chef who taught Oliver for more than ten years, said: 'This has been going on for thousands and thousands of years since the time of Christ. This is very common in Italy, it is very traditional.'

Mr Gennaro who runs the Passione Italian restaurant in London, added: 'Children grow up and see this sort of thing - how can you have a lamb without killing the lamb?

'People who go into supermarkets don't believe that this happens. It's not something where you press a button and you get a lamb. I respect and support Jamie in full.'

By last night, Channel 4 had received 46 complaints from viewers about the lamb killing, which compares with 350 recently received by the BBC when stars swore before the watershed during Live8. A spokesman said: 'We were aware of the sensitivity of the scene and ensured that it was clearly flagged to viewers immediately before the start of the programme.

'It was a difficult scene but one which was relevant in the context and important to include in the programme.'