BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

Crushing caterpillars between the fingers was shown as an alternative method of pest

control on TV3's Living Earth, broadcast between 7.30–8.00pm on 13 January 1993.

Ms Shepherd complained to TV3 Network Services Ltd that the item breached the

standards relating to violence. Cruelty to animals was shown, she continued, without an

appropriate warning.

Pointing out that the method shown was in fact more humane than some of the other

options available, TV3 declined to uphold the complaint. Dissatisfied with the broadcaster's

response, Ms Shepherd referred the complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority

under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

For the reasons given below, the Authority declined to uphold the complaint.

Decision

The members of the Authority have viewed the item complained about and have read the

correspondence (summarised in the Appendix). As is its practice, the Authority has

determined the complaint without a formal hearing.

A presenter's "vivid" demonstration of crushing a caterpillar to death between the fingers

was the subject of a complaint from Ms Wendy Shepherd. The broadcast, she claimed,

breached the standards relating to the portrayal of violence as it did not carry a warning

that cruelty to animals would be shown.

Denying that the segment on Living Earth broadcast at 7.30pm was meant to cause

distress to viewers, TV3 maintained that the death of the caterpillar was shown in the

context of illustrating more humane methods of pest control than spray or poison.

In her final comment to the Authority, Ms Shepherd stated that the shot of the

caterpillar's sudden death being crushed between thumb and finger without a warning

was not consistent with the standard requiring good taste and decency.

As neither Ms Shepherd nor TV3 nominated a standard which the broadcast allegedly

contravened, the Authority assessed the complaint against standard G2 of the Television

Code of Broadcasting Practice. It requires broadcasters:

G2  To take into consideration currently accepted norms of decency and taste in

language and behaviour, bearing in mind the context in which any

language or behaviour occurs.

Although some of the standards dealing specifically with violence refer to the ill-treatment

of animals, the Authority decided that standard G2 was the most relevant as it

encompassed not only Ms Shepherd's concerns about the portrayal of violence but also the

aspects of her complaint that the item was in bad taste.

Standard G2 requires the Authority to consider the complaint in the context of the

programme which contained the allegedly offensive item. In addition to the point made

by TV3 that the broadcast was discussing humane methods of pest control, the Authority

took note that gardeners are the principal target audience for Living Earth. In view of

these matters, the Authority concluded that viewers should not have been surprised if the

programme dealt with some of the realities of pest control. As the brief segment

complained about did not in context breach the standard requiring good taste, the

Authority declined to uphold the complaint.

For the reasons above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Iain Gallaway
Chairperson
9 June 1994

Appendix

Ms Shepherd's Complaint to TV3 Network Services Limited

In a letter dated 13 January 1994, Ms Wendy Shepherd of Levin complained to TV3

Network Services Ltd about an aspect of the programme Living Earth broadcast between

7.30 - 8.00pm that evening.

The broadcast had "vividly demonstrated" the presenter crushing a caterpillar to death

between his fingers which, Ms Shepherd said, made her feel nauseous and should have

been described rather than shown.

She maintained that the broadcast breached the standard which said that cruelty to

animals was not to be shown without appropriate warnings. Further, the alternative of

spraying was not portrayed.

TV3's Response to the Formal Complaint

TV3 advised Ms Shepherd of its Complaints Committee's decision in a letter dated 29

March 1994. It wrote:

It was certainly not our intention to cause any viewer distress. The death of the

caterpillar was used within the context of the programme to show alternatives to

spraying and to express that this method of pest control is in fact more humane

that the slower spray/poison options available.

It did not believe a warning was necessary and it declined to uphold the complaint.

Ms Shepherd's Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority

Dissatisfied with TV3's reply, in a letter dated 10 April 1994 Ms Shepherd referred her

complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting

Act 1989.

Recalling that the scene was distasteful, she believed it had not been necessary to show the

caterpillar's death.

TV3's Response to the Broadcasting Standards Authority

As is its practice, the Authority sought the broadcaster's response to the complaint. Its

letter is dated 12 April 1994 and TV3, in its reply dated 14 April, declined to comment

further.

Ms Shepherd's Final Comment to the Authority

When asked whether she wished to make a final comment on the complaint, in a letter

dated 16 April 1994 Ms Shepherd maintained that the shot of the presenter crushing the

caterpillar breached the standard requiring good taste and decency.