Bat Issues | Discovery Channel Teaches People How To Kill Bats
UPDATE.. 05/05/2019 added more links info
" The main focus of Hostile Planet is to show the resilience of animals that survive in the most hostile environments.
"What's incredible about Hostile Planet, that's never been done before, is that so many of the stories are so heartbreaking," says host Bear Grylls. "And it is an emotional thing watching Hostile Planet."
Grylls, who is also an executive producer of the Nat Geo offering, has seen much of the tragedy of the natural world through his jaunts around the globe. The former member of the British Special Forces starred in seven seasons of the Discovery Channel's Emmy Award-nominated Man vs. Wild, which became one of the most watched shows on the planet, reaching an estimated 1.2 billion viewers.
Hostile Planet aims to draw attention to accounts of animals that have adapted to the cruelest evolutionary curveballs.
"I saw every wildlife programme ever made when I was a kid, and I never saw any of that. And this is what, for me, is so exciting about 'Hostile Planet.' It's refreshing and rebooting a genre that we have all grown up loving and taking it to another level." "
Note that the promo video shows a bat being killed/eaten... could that be laugh at us?
Survival shows have become quite popular in recent years, encouraging people who rarely leave the city to think about what they would do if dropped out of a plane with nothing but a flashlight and paperclip.
Bear Grylls, star of the Discovery Channel series Man vs. Wild, has been the subject of criticism due to the fact that many elements of the show are completely staged, and because Grylls stays in a cushy base camp when not shooting (a far cry from actual survival).
Although the show is intended to serve only “educational” purposes, it has come under fire again, this time from conservationists who claim a recent episode teaches viewers how to harm wildlife rather than protect it.
From Bat Conservation International:
A recent episode of Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild featured Bear Grylls
gleefully killing bats with a homemade club. The clip, which shows Grylls
throwing a flame in a cave to “smoke out” the bats, swatting them to the
ground and then stomping on them, has aired internationally and been posted on YouTube, allowing for continued access.
(Update: Since this article was published, the video has been removed from YouTube).
Intentionally or not, this clip perpetuates negative attitudes toward bats and could generate senseless copycat activity and/or the type of vandalism that is driving many bat species to the brink of extinction. Only four months ago, a Kentucky man was sentenced to eight months in jail after pleading guilty to beating to death 105 endangered Indiana bats.
It is high time these “nature education” shows demonstrated environmental responsibility instead of sensationalism posing as education.
Please express your disgust at this anti-conservation message by
filling out the feedback form on Discovery Communications website. Let the Discovery executives know:
This episode undermines decades of bat conservation efforts.
Bats are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. They eat agricultural pests, disperse seeds to replenish the rainforest and pollinate a variety of plants.
Many bats are endangered and the loss of a single species can have ramifications throughout the ecosystem. Viewers should be informed that killing bats-or even disturbing them-may be illegal depending on the species and country.
You would like Discovery Channel to ensure this edition of Born Survivor and related footage is not aired again and that this footage is removed from Youtube, the Discovery Channel website and all other communications.
by Beth Buczynski May 28, 2010
By Mitch Gilley, Associate Writer.
In a clip from Man vs Wild (formerly on The Discovery Channel) Bear Grylls used smoke to flush bats from a cave and then struck the fleeing, terrified animals with a makeshift club and stomped on them with what seemed to be glee, jokingly referring to it as “bat tennis.”
Yes, this actually happened, and it is not an isolated incident. Aside from bats, Bear has killed alligators, monitor lizards, capybaras and even boas. None of these animals are killed in anywhere near a humane manner; they are simply beaten to death for the amusement of the viewing public.
This can’t be overstated enough: for those who care about animals, the videos available online showing his frequent atrocities are very, very difficult to watch. If you seek them out to see for yourself, please be aware of this.
In replying to email complaints about the show, The Discovery Channel defended itself by saying that Bear was imparting valuable survival information and, unbelievably, that it was his Bear’s “style!” Such “stylistic” concerns as applied to people comprises much of the notoriety of serial killers. As for the conveyance of vital survival tips, opting to beat, kill and eat whatever animals are near is very clearly a rash and inadvisable course of action. Real survival experts – the ones who actually survive in the wilderness rather than preen their sad macho survivalist fantasies on television – say that pretty much everything Bear Grylls does or says to do will get you killed. There is no worthwhile information whatsoever that can only be conveyed by filming oneself killing innocent, healthy animals, and terrorizing and bludgeoning sleeping bats right at their doorstep.
Let us not forget that Bear Grylls was exposed for staying in hotels overnight while filming a show that falsely portrayed him as embattled by harsh wilderness.
Bear Grylls eating the raw meat of a deceased zebra which may have been killed for the program “Man vs Wild.”
Profiting from the utterly pointless killing of these bats – and all animals – is unilaterally unacceptable, and while the show may now be cancelled, Discovery still has the video and others like it up for viewing on their website, meaning that they as well as Bear are still profiting from engineering, perpetrating and showing the deaths of these healthy, innocent animals to audiences worldwide.
Please contact those responsible for fouling our televisions with his presence. Please also feel free to join the Bear Barbaric Bear Grylls Facebook page and SIGN OUR PETITION.
(Please note that we were unable to find an email address for anyone at Discovery, however, you may also leave an opinion here. To contact the Ethics Hotline in the U.S. and Canada, please dial (800) 398-6395.)
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SEND HARD-COPY LETTERS TO DISCOVERY. A SAMPLE LETTER IS INCLUDED BELOW.
Please either fax or mail a letter to John S. Hendricks, Chairman, Discovery Communications, LLC at the following address:
John S. Hendricks, Chairman
One Discovery Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 240-662-2000
Fax: 240-662-1868
Dear John S. Hendricks,
There is a truly repellent video hosted on the Discovery Channel’s website compels me to write to you. The offending video is from the defunct show Man vs. Wild and details the efforts of Bear Grylls as he terrorizes, beats to death and devours harmless bats, ostensibly to demonstrate some tribal hunting technique and to impart supposedly “valuable” survival tactics.
Specifically, Mr. Grylls uses smoke and flame to drive the bats from their home and their sleep, strikes them from the air with a homemade bludgeon, stomps on their broken, fragile, defenseless bodies and then devours them alive, all for the benefit of an audience that will never in a million years find themselves forced to rely on what they’ve seen on television to survive in the Chinese wilderness.
That such brutality is so flimsily justified by anthropological and naturalist pretenses is offensive enough, but it cannot possibly overshadow the brutality itself. After hearing the video, it seemed unbelievable – even possibly illegal – that such things could or would be shown, and particularly on a reputable channel as Discovery. If teenagers spent the weekend filming themselves doing the exact same thing, they would of course be arrested and charged with animal cruelty.
It was profoundly disappointing then to see that it was not only aired, but choreographed and filmed at great effort and expense. Worse, it was done solely to entertain and to glorify Mr. Grylls as a strong and courageous survivalist. As this is a fabrication, as it is now common knowledge that many or most of Mr. Grylls’ stunts were staged, as everyone now knows that he was spending his nights in hotel rooms rather than the wilderness he professed to survive in for days on end, not only is all his demagoguery rendered suspect, but it cannot be credibly said that those bats died for educational purposes, nor indeed for any other purpose than the facile excitement of an audience.
Profiting from the brutal and inhumane killing of these animals in pursuit of what is essentially a modern day blood sport is wrong, and we ask that the “bat tennis” video be removed from your website along with all others in which Bear Grylls beats animals to death. As a media operation that purports to be educational, fostering such cruelty and disrespect toward the creatures we share the earth with is unconscionable. What was done to them cannot be undone, but you can from this point on respect their suffering and not peddle it as despicable and retrograde entertainment.
Again, I implore The Discovery Channel to remove all videos of Bear Grylls mutilating, killing and eating innocent animals from your website as well as other websites including YouTube and other video channels.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
- batworld.org/bear-grylls-bat-killer/
- facebook / BoycottBarbaricBearGrylls
- change.org / the-discovery-channel-stop-showing-videos-of-bear-grylls-mutilating-killing-and-eating-innocent-animals
- bats.org.uk / bct-response-to-bear-grylls-born-survivor
- batcon.org / bats-magazine / bat_article / Dear Bear Grylls
- youtube / Z4-Formosa Bat speaks about Bear Grylls killing and eating Bats (Published on Jun 21, 2010)
Sir David Attenborough blasts Bear Grylls for killing animals for the sake of TV entertainment on his Channel 4 reality show
Sir David, 91, said Grylls would have to 'answer for himself' for killing of animals
Adventurer's show The Island often features contestants slaughtering animals
Among those killed on recent series include caiman crocodiles, pigs and turkeys
By ALEX MATTHEWS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:32 AEST, 5 January 2018 | UPDATED: 12:09 AEST, 5 January 2018
Sir David Attenborough has slammed Bear Grylls after accusing him of killing animals for the sake of entertaining TV.
Sir David, 91, said the adventurer would have to 'answer for himself' after a host of creatures were slaughtered on his Channel 4 show, The Island.
Among the animals killed on the show are caiman crocodiles, pigs and turkeys - much to the outrage of charities and viewers.
Sir David Attenborough (left) has slammed Bear Grylls (right) after accusing him of killing animals for the sake of entertaining TV
BBC legend Sir David, who will be soon launching a series on conservation for Netflix, told the Sun: 'We've never killed an animal.
'Bear Grylls will have to answer for himself. But I wouldn't willingly kill an animal just to get a shot.'
Grylls, known for his daring survival shows where he pits himself against the elements and wild animals, has also been criticised by animal charity PETA.
The comments came after Olympian Iwan Thomas and former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas killed a crocodile with a knife, on celebrity edition of the Island last year.
Viewers were horrified by the scene and PETA UK condemned the show's 'miserable celebrities and producers'.
However, it was not the first time The Island had attracted the ire of animals lovers.
Previously, Made in Chelsea star Ollie Locke left fans furious for mounting and killing a crocodile, during the series in October last year.
Locke looked visibly shocked during the aftermath of the killing, before eventually mumbling, 'I'm so sorry darling' and told the camera: 'I think that's one of the hardest things I've ever done in my entire life.'
But fans were unimpressed as said he showed a complete 'lack of remorse'.
While in 2015, show bosses were accused of shipping in pigs for the contestants to slaughter.
A scene from one episode showed three female islanders creep up on a sleeping pig before plunging a knife into its neck.
Animal rights groups condemned the slaughter and the RSPCA told The Mail on Sunday: 'The RSPCA opposes practices that cause animals pain, suffering or death in the name of entertainment.
'It's unacceptable and could easily cause great distress to the animals.'
A Bear Grylls Adventure 9: The Cave Challenge
The ninth in the fun new 12-book collectible series for young readers from survival expert and Chief Scout BEAR GRYLLS.
A mysterious compass with a fifth direction transports a young boy to an extensive cave system filled with bats, treacherous drops and hidden dangers. Luckily, survival expert Bear Grylls is on hand to guide him safely out, facing his fears and gaining in confidence along the way.
Each book in this fun new 12-book series from BEAR GRYLLS follows a different child on the outdoor activity camp. Once they are given the magical compass, they meet the inspirational adventurer in an amazing place and learn new skills and facts they can take with them back to their real life.
More books by this author More books in this series
Author bio:
Bear and his wife Shara live with their three sons on a barge on the River Thames in London and on a small island off the coast of Wales.
You can find out more about Bear Grylls on his official website: www.beargrylls.com
Twitter @BearGrylls (1.3 million followers)
Facebook @RealBearGrylls (6.7 million likes)
Instagram @BearGrylls (1.2 million fans)
Emma McCann (Illustrator)
Based in Cornwall, Emma studied illustration at Kingston University and has since illustrated many titles for a wide variety of publishers. Her first children's book was long-listed for the Kate Greenaway award. Check out her work at www.emmamccann.co.uk or follow on Twitter @cooliobeanz
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