A birds of prey rehabilitation nonprofit has dismissed Chris Packham after his behavior’split’ its membership.
The Countryfile broadcaster had been engaged with Raptor Rescue since the early 1990s, but the charity withdrew him as a patron over a year ago before removing his profile from its website after it had been there by mistake.
The organisation, which rescues and rehabilitates around 600 birds each year and has a helpline to report raptors in danger, claimed they ‘hadn’t heard from him in a long time’.
They also cited his choice to “become increasingly political in his views.”
Chairman Malcolm Robbins told the Telegraph: ‘He was a patron, but we hadn’t heard from him in a long time, he hadn’t done anything for the charity, and we couldn’t contact him.
‘The other reason we decided to remove him was he started to get more and more political in his views and that didn’t sit well with our members either.
‘So, he wasn’t doing anything for us, and his actions were beginning to split the membership.’
Robbins said the charity’s members ‘are people who simply love birds’ as well as ‘working falconers and people from the countryside who support our work’.
He claimed: ‘Some people don’t like the political side of his activities and he was becoming a more political person.
‘He has now even started talking about breaking the law. Irrespective of our personal feelings, as a charity there is no way we could support that.’
His statements about breaching the law, which he made in the Channel 4 programme Is It Time To Break The Law, occurred after his dismissal from the charity.
He asked at the time: ‘Peaceful protest has been a cornerstone of activism, but as the urgency grows, we must question whether it is enough. What will compel decision-makers to listen and take decisive action?
‘The time for complacency has long passed, and it is up to us to drive a tornado of change that cannot be ignored. Our planet’s survival depends on it.’
Packham is still a vice president of the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, and Butterfly Conservation, and he recently chastised ITV and I’m A Celebrity hosts Ant and Dec for using animals in the reality programme.
