Blue Peter has apologised for showing children the ritual slaughter of a goat in scenes that included the animal’s agonised death throes.
Ofcom criticised the BBC after viewers complained that the scenes, shown without warning, were shocking and wholly unsuitable for children.
The footage was shown in a feature about a village in Oman preparing for the Eid ul-Fitr festival. The killing was shown in long-shot and from behind, so that the method of slaughter was not visible, but the BBC admitted that the death throes were apparent. Ofcom said the goat was clearly seen “twitching” in close-up as it expired and considered that the final moments of its death were “not appropriate on this occasion”.
The BBC said Blue Peter had recognised immediately that the subject should not have been shown in such detail and apologised to viewers and children the day after broadcast.
The Sun’s coverage of multi-culti fun on Blue Peter
Hmmm. The BBC’s claim that “Blue Peter had recognised immediately that the subject should not have been shown in such detail” is utter tosh. When we first covered this appaling story back on January 23rd, I noted that:
…having searched through BBC Views Online’s search engine, the Blue Peter Homepage and the BBC’s Press Office, I can find no references to this apology from the editor of Blue Peter – has it passed you by Beeboids? There’s still time to get an article up on BBC Views Online’s Entertainment page, the place where you normally need no excuse to toot the BBC’s horn!
Even now, searching Google for site:bbc.co.uk “blue peter” oman goat slaughter returns just one result, a BBC Complaints response allegedly published on 19 Jan 2007, in which Richard Marson, Editor of Blue Peter, states:
We thought long and hard about the treatment of this story. We decided to include it because it is a fact of life not only in Oman but all over the world and we felt that it was important to show the link between the food that people eat and where it actually comes from.
So, on the one hand, we have the editor of Blue Peter saying “we thought long and hard about the treatment of this story” and on the other we have “Blue Peter… recognised immediately that the subject should not have been shown in such detail”. Well, which is it?
And even if they did recognise their error immediately afterwards, shouldn’t it have been just as obvious immediately before it was broadcast? We are talking about alleged broadcasting professionals here, aren’t we? Has anyone been punished or reprimanded over this now admitted error?
P.S. Beeboids: There’s still time to get an article up on BBC Views Online’s Entertainment page about this BBC story – you know you would if another broadcaster had done this…
An attempt to desensitize the license-fee masses to the more primitive behaviors of Islamic culture backfires? They probably still can’t wrap their minds around that one. I noticed that the so-called attempt to show how the killing of cute animals “is a fact of life not only in Oman but all over the world and we felt that it was important to show the link between the food that people eat and where it actually comes from” wasn’t made by showing a slaughter for food by, say, an animist tribe in West Africa, a Buddhist/animist village in Laos, or, dare one say, Gerrard St. in Soho. It wasn’t even a killing to feed a hungry family of subsistence farmers. But remember, boys and girls, it’s totally cool if those people do it as a religious ritual. Next time we’ll show you how to put a nice crescent in the mainsail of your own Blue Peter flag!
Blue Peter has lost the plot.
I have fond memories of Peter Purves making a bird box from an old cereal carton, Val making some yummy biscuits and John Noakes doing a parachute jump. Very wholesome themes – family, pets, avtivity.
Now its taken straight from the PC handbook – hand wringing about AIDS in Malawi – followed by some poor old endangered animals somewhere. Even the line-up seems artificial: one asian, one afro, and one whitey.
What, no sino-asian?
In the days of John Noakes and Valerie Singleton the dogs on the program were obviously loved.
I know it is only a small thing, but have you noticed the complete lack of empathy exhibited by Blue Peter’s current crop of PC presenters towards their animals?
How one treats animals says a great deal more about a persons world view than the mouthing of liberal platitudes.
I didn’t see this episode but it does seem totally out of order.
However Blue Peter still has very close links with the services and one entire episode was recently taking up with a presenter and his mate learning to box before taking part in a match. (Well the presenter couldn’t because he failed the medical). It was a gloriously un-PC celebration of amateur boxing.
Hm, reminds of of Channel 4 in that sense. They toe the party line quite often, but they are less afraid to show the other side of the story…
It also says in the complaints response on the 19th January:
“On reflection, perhaps we should have shown the sequence in less detail… I apologise to those viewers who were distressed by this item”
This was the day after the original broadcast. Is a day’s reflection “immediate” enough?
Good Afternoon Nick….
That didn’t take long to sort this out-I remember reading Chuffers comments on this:
“Astonishing bit on Blue Peter this evening, about 17:05, 18JAN07 – a long feature on the joys and general loveliness of the Religion of Plumbers in Oman, especially for the youngsters. Bless. At the end of Ramadan, a goat is killed. And as two men hold it down, and one slashes its throat, the Blue Peter muppet turns to camera and says “At least it’s done humanely….”
http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/2007/01/according-to-saturdays-edition-of-sun.html
Since when has goat killing ever been part of the staple diet of Blue Peter Nick?
As far as I can remember it used to be all about the Blue Peter garden, elephants, bring and buy sales and steam trains:
http://tv.cream.org/
What ever next Nick-build your own secret Al Qaeda base…..
How does this prove bias? It doesn’t! you just hate them! =0
Kevin Doran | Homepage | 24.04.07 – 7:33 pm
‘Interesting’ homepage you have there:
Man Chops Off His Penis In Restaurant
Girl Given Four Months for False Rape Claim
Got something on your mind?
The bias, you moron, is apparent to all: the craven, lickspittle kowtowing in front of all and any aspect of islam
I bet “Kevin Doran” found this post searching the web for “children” and “goats”.
What terribly weak insults, Bio; not very creative are you? Anyway, the face at the end of my comment should indicate lighthearted jest, so relax, there.
Hey, Bio, are you a woman? You come off a little childish and petty like one. If not, oh well.
What terribly weak insults, Bio; not very creative are you?
Hey, Bio, are you a woman?
Irony.
What terribly weak insults, Bio; not very creative are you? Anyway, the face at the end of my comment should indicate lighthearted jest, so relax, there.
Hey, Bio, are you a woman? You come off a little childish and petty like one. If not, oh well.
Extraordinary, this idea that you can put up the stupidest and most ridiculous comments and then say well, it was all a joke so that’s all right and anyone who doesn’t get it should just relax. Why not just take responsibility for your words? You are obviously a misogynist and Biodegradable got you pegged right. Oh dear, I expect your comment about women being a little childish and petty was also light-hearted irony. Chill, huh? Well, as the German soldier used to say in Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In: “Verry interresting. But stooopid.” I hope you don’t find that insulting. Relax, OK?
Hey, Bio, are you a woman? You come off a little childish and petty like one. If not, oh well.
Kevin Doran | Homepage | 25.04.07 – 9:47 am
You sexist bastard!
Besides every woman knows it’s MEN who are the childish, petty ones 😉
Kevin: ‘How does this prove bias?’
Possibly not bias but I suspect if this had been Christians killing a goat they would not have broadcast it.
‘You sexist bastard!’
I’ll take that as a yes.
Wrong again Kevin. Back to searching the web for goats and children for you, unless you have anything more to say about BBC bias?
Besides every woman knows it’s MEN who are the childish, petty ones
Thanks. We try. 🙂
Roxana:
Besides every woman knows it’s MEN who are the childish, petty ones
Roxana | 25.04.07 – 9:00 pm | #
Didn’t I see you trying to park your car in the supermarket car park this morning?
Is Roxana Italian?
Is Roxana Italian?
Biodegradable | 26.04.07 – 2:20 pm |
No, I think this is she.
Have a look at some of the other footage on women drivers on youtube.
I’ve been in hysterics for the last hour.
I’ve been in hysterics for the last hour.
TPO | 26.04.07 – 3:26 pm
That’s one I didn’t see, excellent! 😆
I was going to mention those others, they had me rolling around for quite a while too.
Didn’t I see you trying to park your car in the supermarket car park this morning?
TPO
No, that must have been my evil twin. 😀
I am not Italian but I do feel that girl’s pain. Personally I wouldn’t even have tried to parallel a car that big in a space that tight. 🙂
And the second one isn’t me either. As I hate to back up I’d have gone forward seeing as there wasn’t a car in front of her space.
Where do I find the stupid male drivers footage?
Personally I wouldn’t even have tried to parallel a car that big in a space that tight.
You would have done it this way:
Where do I find the stupid male drivers footage?
There are some pretty stupid male motorbike riders:
Before this thread fades into irrelevance and history here is my take on the story. O.K. I know I used the graphic before but 😉
http://thumbsnap.com/v/zdWMj1Z8.jpg
deegee | 28.04.07 – 8:58 am
I’d never noticed before that the Telly-Tubbies wear chadors, or hajibs, or whatever they’re called. I suppose that’s so they’re acceptable in Muslim countries 😆