Chris Packham is ‘disappointed’ with The Chase stars for swimming with dolphins

Nature presenter Chris Packham has waded into the debate surrounding The Chasers Road Trip: Trains, Brains and Automobiles, which featured a swimming with dolphins segment.

The RSPCA hit out at ITV show – which is a spin-off from mainstay quiz The Chase – telling The Mirror: ‘We were disappointed to see animals being used in this way on The Chasers Road Trip.’

The show saw quiz stars Anne Hegerty, Shaun Wallace and Mark Labbett at the Dolphin Research Centre in Florida swimming with the captive creatures, with Chris telling The Mirror: ‘I’ve met the Chasers, they’re a really nice bunch of people, but they’re not natural historians.

‘Therefore, it’s probably not at the forefront of their thinking that, that sort of thing might be seen as unacceptable.

‘So I suppose if there’s any disappointment, it would come from the production companies because they should be on top of this and making sure that their presenters, their contributors are made aware of those issues, and then they’ve got a choice.

‘The production companies are putting it out and they shouldn’t be asking their participants to do things which are going to get them into trouble, whether it’s speeding, you know, anything, which is now totally socially unacceptable.’    

An RSCPA spokesperson said: ‘Swimming with dolphins may seem appealing to holidaymakers but we know that in reality they often have restricted space and can find swimming with people all day very stressful.’

‘Keeping dolphins and whales captive deprives them of some of the most basic freedoms and causes them unacceptable levels of stress and suffering. Captivity cannot provide for their needs and they can live shortened lives.’

This was backed up by further disapproval from Humane Society International/UK and The Ethical Bucket List. 

ITV responded to the criticism, telling MailOnline: ‘There is no endorsement of mistreatment of animals in this programme.

‘As the show makes clear to viewers, it sets out to challenge and enlighten our understanding of animal intelligence and does so in a way that prompts the Chasers to reflect on the ways animals are treated by humans within our cultures and ask whether this should change. 

‘The Dolphin Research Centre where filming took place is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, the international accrediting body for marine parks, aquariums, zoos and research facilities.

‘Alliance-accredited institutions are the gold standard in marine mammal care at which animal experts dedicate their lives to the well-being of the animals in their care and to the rescue and rehabilitation of marine animals in need of help.

‘Louie, one of the dolphins who appeared in the programme, was rescued at a young age after being impacted by an oil spill while in the wild and has since had to remain at the facility, having been too young to develop hunting and social skills to survive in the wild.’

The Chasers Road Trip: Trains, Brains and Automobiles airs Thursdays at 9PM on ITV.