The Australian Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals publicly objected in July to the mock killing of a pig in which no pig was actually shown.
During an airing of the Australian reality TV show “Australian Idol,” contestant Shaye Biancha demonstrates how she would kill a pig by pretending to stab judge Kyle Sandilands.
This was enough to outrage the RSPCA. According to Australian Associated Press, the RSPCA’s Michael Beatty said,
Let’s make this easy for you Australian idol. Animal cruelty is not hilarious. It is not funny. The links between animal cruelty and other forms of abuse are quite clear and very frightening. . . . In one episode of Australian Idol you’ve broadcast a message that not only condones animal cruelty, but supports it.
Australian Idol responded to these charges by saying that what was depicted was not animal cruelty at all. A spokesperson for the show told the Australian Associated Press,
Shaye Biancha’s hobby of bush hunting is considered a legitimate activity in Far North Queensland, where feral pigs are declared pests under Queensland legislation. Shaye’s mock re-enactment of hunting a pig with Kyle Sandilands was not done in a serious manner.
Source:
Idol promoting animal cruelty: RSPCA. Australian Associated Press, July 28, 2005.