According to an investigation by UK wildlife charity Buglife, the makers of 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' brought invasive crayfish to North Wales without a licence when filming the programme last year, prompting calls for police to investigate the ITV show again.
Turkish crayfish were used in the 'trials' in episode five of the series, which was broadcast live from Gwrych Castle, but the show did not have permission to possess the crayfish, the investigation found.
This discovery comes four months after police launched an investigation into the show over concerns non-native species from the set were escaping into the Welsh countryside.
TV presenter and naturalist Iolo Williams, said: "What this does is reinforce my thoughts that it was highly irresponsible to posses or release non-native species in this area. It doesn’t matter how safe they claim the whole process to be, it’s still highly irresponsible".
"We know we have massive issues with non-native species that have been introduced in the past, and ones that are constantly being introduced – this is costing the country millions of pounds each year".
Turkish crayfish, or narrow-clawed crayfish, are listed as non-native invasive species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and keeping them, even if in captivity, is banned by the Prohibition of Keeping of Live Fish (Crayfish) Order SI 1996/1104. They are one of six non-native crayfish now wild in the UK, after originally being introduced in the 1970s, with Turkish crayfish common in the Midlands and south-east England.
Matt Shardlow, CEO of Buglife, urges police to reopen the investigation, stating: "Entertainment isn’t one of the reasons why people should be having these dangerously invasive species at all – they just shouldn’t be using invasive species for sort of frivolous purposes".
"These crayfish were in a situation which has already been highlighted as potentially risky for the escape of non-native species into the environment. Now, I don’t know whether there was any risks of these particular ones escaping but that’s certainly something the police needs to look at".
The Welsh Government and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have both confirmed they received no application for a licence required for the crayfish. North Wales police have said if further information and evidence can be provided they will consider if a subsequent investigation is required.
