Comedian Diane Morgan issues demand over BBC coverage | UK | News

Comedian Diane Morgan, Brian May and Athena Turner are among a group of celebrities who have called on media secretary Lisa Nandy to call on the BBC to more accurately reflect factory farming on its programmes.

In their letter, the signatories describe the broadcaster as “a national institution that both shapes and reflects our ethos as a nation of animal lovers” and underscore its significant impact on public perceptions of animals and their welfare.

But the group, which also includes Kirsty Gallacher, Jenny Seagrove and Will Young, has expressed concern that BBC news could present a softened and incomplete picture on programs such as Countryfile, where 85% of the nearly one billion animals raised for food in the UK are kept on industrial closed farms.

As part of the upcoming BBC Charter review, the group is calling on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to introduce stronger requirements on animal welfare and sensitivity into BBC broadcast rules.

The letter says: “The BBC is one of the UK’s most trusted institutions and few broadcasters have done more to foster the public’s fascination with the natural world.

“The British public has a deep love and respect for animals and concern for their welfare. While this is something that the BBC reflects and helps to develop in many ways, it is also vitally important to ensure that the way animals’ lived experiences are portrayed in public broadcasting does not obscure or obscure the often unpleasant reality.

“We believe it is time to instruct the BBC to provide a full picture of our relationship with animals and the impact of our actions on them, and to remove any perception of bias.”

The group of celebrities joined forces with 16 animal welfare groups. These groups have submitted a joint proposal to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport outlining recommendations to include stronger animal welfare and sensitivity standards in BBC content.

“We have noted that in many cases mainstream programmes, such as BBC Breakfast, telling stories about chicken meat prices or disease outbreaks, are using images of, or broadcast locations of, free-range/organic outside facilities, which do not provide a good visual representation of what life for most chickens is actually like or the conditions that trigger the anxiety in the stories,” he says.

Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public relations at Humane World for Animals UK, said: “This is the first Charter review since the sentience of animals was recognized in law, so it is an important opportunity for the Government to ensure the BBC has a mandate to educate viewers about the full range of health and welfare issues facing animals.

“Flagship BBC series such as Countryfile lean heavily towards depictions of pasture-based outdoor farming, but every day millions of animals live and die in intensive closed farming systems in the UK, and these systems are largely invisible to the public. Viewers deserve a more balanced treatment of the realities of how sentient animals, including chickens and pigs, are raised.”

Edie Bowles, Executive Director of the Animal Law Foundation, added: “Television has a strong role in shaping public understanding of British farming. The Ofcom Broadcasting Code rightly emphasizes that factual programs must not materially mislead viewers and that accuracy and appropriate context are essential. In this spirit, we encourage the BBC to continue its strong tradition of credible public interest broadcasting by ensuring depictions of farming reflect the breadth and complexity of modern farming, helping viewers develop a well-informed and balanced understanding of the food system.”