Chris Packham has reignited his public feud with Jeremy Clarkson, accusing the former Top Gear host of having a 'big mouth' and claiming that industrial farmers are hiding 'horrors' behind a smokescreen. The 65-year-old BBC wildlife presenter first sparked the row last week on Celebrity Gogglebox, where he criticised Clarkson's Amazon Prime show Clarkson's Farm for presenting an unrealistic view of farming.
Packham's Initial Criticism
On the show, Packham said: 'That's not what a farm looks like. Most farms are horrible monocultures which have been sprayed with deadly chemicals, time and time again, the ground pumped full of fertiliser, and loads of the animals are indoors – in crates, being crushed and kept in the dark.' He added that the opening credits of Clarkson's show were an 'idealistic view' that misleads the public.
Clarkson responded in his column for The Sun, dismissing Packham's comments as 'b*****ks' and claiming that Packham had visited his Diddly Squat Farm over a decade ago without raising any concerns. 'If there had been some animals in a crate, being crushed, I'm sure he would have noticed and said something,' Clarkson wrote.
Packham Doubles Down
Packham has now doubled down on his stance, insisting that Clarkson is 'being disingenuous.' In a statement to HuffPost, Packham said: 'I made the comments about the silly idealistic stereotyped cartoon at the top of his programme, he knows that. And he knows it paints an entirely unrealistic image of most of [the UK's farms].'
He added: 'The industrial farming fraternity love Clarkson's Farm because it gives them something pretty to hide behind, a friendly flagship of good ol' wholesome values. The truth is so very different, and it's a truth that needs to be told for the sake of animal welfare, wildlife, human health and a secure environmental future.'
Packham's Activism
Packham, who was appointed a CBE for services to nature conservation in 2019, is a vocal activist for animal rights and environmental protection. In May, he called for a government ban on trail and fox hunting, speaking at a protest of 300 people in Westminster organized by the League Against Cruel Sports. 'We elected a government with a massive majority and a manifesto pledge to stop fox hunting,' he told PA. 'But two years into that term of government, and nothing has happened.'
He also criticized the ITV show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here for using live animals in its Bushtucker challenges. The Standard has contacted Clarkson's representative for comment.
