ITV fined over 'I'm A Celeb' rat death

ITV has been fined £1,660 for animal cruelty over the I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! rat row.

Celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo and actor Stuart Manning sparked the controversy last year by killing and eating a rat while taking part in the Australian-based reality series.

A court in Sydney has now imposed the £1,660 (AU$3,000) fine after hearing that the rat in question took a minute and a half to die and suffered unnecessary pain after being stabbed with a knife.

Although animal cruelty charges were originally filed against D'Acampo and Manning, these were dropped after ITV admitted that the programme's production staff had given permission for the pair to kill the animal.

The court heard that producers only considered whether eating the rat would make contestants ill and did not research local laws.

ITV has also been ordered to pay £1,390 (AU$2,500) in costs. A spokesman for the broadcaster commented: "ITV has apologised for the mistake which led to the incident. The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal or otherwise, in New South Wales, and accepts that further enquiries should have been made.

"This was an oversight, and we have since thoroughly reviewed our procedures, and are putting in place a comprehensive training programme to ensure that this does not happen in future series."