TV exploits animals' pain, says Morris

ONE MIGHT have thought that Johnny Morris would consider it animal magic. But as yet another "pet tv" programme hits our screens, the doyen of animal programmes has accused television producers of exploiting sick animals for the sake of ratings.

His complaint followed news that former Blue Peter presenters John Noakes and Peter Purves are to front two more new shows about pets. Next week, viewers can choose from 14 programmes on the welfare of furry or scaly friends, ranging from tales of rescuing Spot from a roof to what happened to Snowy the hamster when he ate slug pellets.

It may be true that the British are obsessed with their animals but Mr Morris, the presenter of the much-loved Animal Magic, believes it has all gone too far. "It is enough to make you vomit. I never look at those programmes, I have seen a sample of them and that was enough for me," he said.

"They are purely sentimental, money-making things which provide vehicles for people to watch animals who have suffered and are in distress, or have been abandoned. People make entertainment out of it.

"They show some doe-eyed spaniel with a broken leg, and what could be more touching than that, but it is a disgraceful way to entertain people."

Mr Morris, who began Animal Magic in 1962, said his programme never exploited a sick animal. To turn this into entertainment, he said, "makes my head spin", adding: "There are a lot of people who love to watch it and shed a tear but it is not my idea of the way television should be used."

But the fascination of commissioning editors with sick animals shows no sign of slowing. Mr Noakes's show, Mad About Pets, will travel the country looking for people with unusual performing pets. Mr Purves' show - Pets Go Public - is a gameshow whereby viewers have to guess which pet goes with which owner.

Not content with showing Pet Rescue five times a week, Channel 4 will soon be offering the hapless viewer Animalicious - a "funny but wry account of how some normal lives have been affected by chance encounters with animals, from the mad squirrel that terrorised a whole neighbourhood to the parakeet that broke a man's neck".

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 defended the nightly showing of Pet Rescue and its summer spin-off Pet Rescuers. And the spin off of the spin-off, the Pet Rescue Road Show. "It does seem to be the theme of the moment and there are an awful lot of programmes, although the bubble is bound to burst soon. "Having said that, Pet Rescue is enormously popular and the audience does get involved in the lives of the animals. It proves that we are a nation of animal lovers."

The BBC was equally defensive about Animal Hospital which attracts around nine million viewers. "There is no doubt that Rolf Harris has struck a rich vein with his brilliant presentation, and the reaction from the audience was so immense that the other channels were bound to latch onto that," a spokesman said.

The BBC has at least two more programmes in store, one about zoos, the other about their keepers. "I don't think that peoples' interest in animals will ever wane," the BBC spokesman added.

Certainly the RSPCA, which acts as an advisor on many of the programmes, is hoping that the public will not tire of this genre. Not only does it educate, it says, but after every Pet Rescue, for example, members of the public are invited to ring in and offer to adopt the pets featured.

There are hundreds of calls daily, many from the schoolchildren who avidly discuss the show in the playground the next day. "People are generally concerned about animal welfare and the programmes have made them more aware that there are still people who neglect their pets. They are much more likely to contact us now and we can investigate and we will prosecute," said an RSPCA spokesman.

A Cuddly Week of

Pets on Television

SUNDAY 9 AUGUST

BBC1, 6.30pm. Animal Hospital Roadshow: Rolf Harris (right) meets patients of the local vet Neil Forbes, including a heavily pregnant cocker spaniel and an abandoned dog on the verge of death.

ITV Granada, 6.30pm. Animal Rescuers: This week A horse with a deep head-wound turns up at someone else's stables, and a swan leaves its pond and wanders across a busy road.

Channel 5, 5.30am. Wildlife SOS: Life at a wildlife sanctuary.

MONDAY 10 AUGUST

Channel 4, 5.30pm. Pet Rescuers: People who care for neglected animals. This week: Carla Lane.

ITV Granada, 8.30pm. Animal Rescuers: This week Canada geese which have been covered in oil need emergency treatment, and a badger is trapped in a garage forecourt.

TUESDAY 11 AUGUST

Channel 4, 5.30pm. Pet Rescuers: A woman whose home is devoted to rabbits, and a dog who gets stuck on top of a building.

BBC 1, 8pm. Vets in Practice: A bemused budgie keeps Trude (right) busy, while Sam and her colleagues wait for the surgery's grey mare to give birth.

ITV Granada, 7.30pm. Safari: The documentary series telling the story of the animals at Knowsley Safari Park, near Liverpool.

Channel 4, 8pm. Absolutely Animals: Wendy Turner visits a hospital for elephants in Thailand, and vet Simon White treats the age-related problems of a 20-year-old cat and her 17-year-old offspring.

WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST

Channel 4, 5.30pm. Pet Rescuers: Another roof rescue of a dog, this time he is called Scruff.

BBC 1, 8pm. Vets in Practice: Steve treats a sick iguana and admits he knows little about this type of reptile.

THURSDAY 13 AUGUST

Channel 4, 5.30pm. Pet Rescuers: The story of a puppy born with enormous "bat ears"is retold.

FRIDAY 14 AUGUST

Channel 4, 5.30pm. Pet Rescuers: Why Sky the pony needs special attention, and Squirrel the cat has to settle into his new home.

Channel 5, 7.30pm. Wildlife SOS: More rescues.