Gino and Stuart face charges over rat death

I'm A Celebrity... winner Gino D'Acampo and fellow camper Stuart Manning are facing animal cruelty charges after cooking and eating a rat in the jungle.

The BBC News website reports that the RSPCA in New South Wales, Australia, said it was "not acceptable" that a rat had been killed by the pair while they were living in the exile camp.

Police confirmed that they had issued notices for D'Acampo and Manning to appear in court in Murwillumbah, Australia, in February.

The pair killed and ate the rat while they were reduced to living on meagre rations of rice and beans in exile.

D'Acampo later told the Bush Telegraph, "I saw one of these rats running around. I got a knife, I got its throat, I picked it up."

The group later ate the rat as part of a meal.

However Chief Inspector David Oshannessey from the RSPCA in New South Wales told BBC Radio Five Live there was a code of practice which dictated how animals could be used in theatrical shows and films.

"The allegation is that an animal was cruelly treated on the set, he said. It was a rat that was killed.

"There is a code of conduct in New South Wales that dictates how animals can be used. The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable."

He added that the charity sends wherever animals are filmed or used for live performances, and had been in contact with the show's producers before the incident.

They decided to take action after being told what had happened.

Oshannessy added that inquiries were "very much ongoing" and he could not rule out the charity taking further action against ITV.