Petition demands BBC sack Chris Packham over anti-hunting campaign

TENS of thousands of people have signed an online petition calling for TV naturalist Chris Packham to be sacked by the BBC over his anti-hunt campaigning.

More than 42,000 signatures have been added to the list since it was started on Tuesday evening against Mr Packham who lives in Colbury, near Marchwood, and is a well-known face on popular TV nature shows such as Springwatch.

The petition was launched by Andrew Hayes, and states: “As an employee of the BBC, Chris Packham should remain impartial and keep his views and beliefs to himself.

“However, he is the face of many anti-hunting campaigns and uses his celeb status as a platform to push his anti-hunting agenda.

“He has made his goal to ban all kinds of hunting, and country sports and pursuits, and I feel he is no longer fit to work for the BBC.”

Mr Packham is a fierce anti-hunt campaigner and on New Year’s Day recorded a video at the New Forest Hunt’s meet in which he spoke out against the tradition which he has attacked as “embarrassing outdated savagery”.

Locally, he has raised his voice on environmental issues, siding with local residents against rural housing developments in Milford and Ringwood.

He caused particular controversy in the New Forest last year when he claimed that the national park was being damaged from overgrazing by too many animals, such as ponies and cows, being run out by commoners.

But he was made a CBE in the New Year's Honours List for services to wildlife and nature conservation.

Neither Mr Packham nor the BBC responded to a request for comment.

But Mr Packham recently said in a Radio 4 interview that he was contracted by the corporation on a “consultant” basis and so, unlike direct employees, was entitled to make his views public.

Nationally he has called for urgent action to tackle climate change and save species from extinction, recently giving a speech to the Extinction Rebellion protests that blocked parts of London.

Previously he has fought against Southampton port operator ABP attempting to redevelop Dibden Bay, near Marchwood, into a giant container terminal.

Mr Packham was defended for his dedication to conservation by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s chief executive, Debbie Tamm.

She told the A&T: “It’s great to have a high profile passionate advocate for nature in our local area. Chris’s love of wildlife has helped to inspire countless others, young and old.

“He is tireless in his work trying to safeguard nature and reverse biodiversity losses.

“Whilst he isn’t afraid of taking on contentious subjects, he also works hard to bring different perspectives together, as was seen with his people’s manifesto for wildlife, which included views from farmers, landowners and others.

“With the challenges we and wildlife are currently facing, we need many more people like Chris Packham raising their voice and provoking debate – we all need to work together to find solutions to the ecological crisis in front of us, for all our sakes.”

Mr Packham gave notice of his intention to raise his campaigning profile in an interview with the A&T in 2018, in which he talked about how he copes with Asperger’s Syndrome and his anxiety over humans’ impact on the environment.