Yahoo News Chris Packham shares shock over threats of violence and intimidation
The conservationist told Loose Women that being threatened for trying to protect wildlife was 'a surprising place to be'.
Watch Chris Packham shares shock over threats of violence and intimidation
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Chris Packham has shared his shock that people would want to attack and intimidate him over his conservation work, calling it "a surprising place to be".
The Winterwatch star spoke to ITV's Loose Women on Wednesday about the "constant intimidation" he faces and admitted that having "failed to protect" the environment as much as he would have liked to weighs heavily on his conscience.
Packham also spoke about his latest children's book, which he hopes will inspire the next generation to continue his work.
What, how, and why?
Conservationist Chris Packham has faced countless threats of violence and intimidating messages over his work trying to protect wildlife, and on Wednesday he told Loose Women that he found it surprising that people felt so angry towards him.
The TV star has recently published another children's book, Superhero Animals, that he hopes will inspire young readers to continue his important work - but said that not everyone felt the same way.
Asked about the threats he has received, Packham said: "It's a surprising place to be. Myself and people like me get up every day and we want to make the world a better place for wildlife and for people. I thought that would be a relatively passive and easy thing to do.
"But in fact, there are a lot of people who have vested interests and they want to keep bad business as usual and they see people like myself as an adversary. Unfortunately, a tiny minority of those people tend to lash out. I think the reason is that I'm asking them to change their minds more quickly than they want to and the reason I'm asking that is there is a real urgency.
"We know we're in the midst of climate breakdown and a biodiversity crisis that motivates me to write books, to communicate to those generations who are going to have to pick up the pieces."
Despite his lifelong campaigning work, Packham admitted: "I feel a lot on my conscience, I'm a 62-year-old bloke that has failed to protect the natural world and the environment in the way that I would have liked, so now I'm pressing more urgently to do so, there are some people who are resisting that and unfortunately it leads to some degrees of violence and constant intimidation.
"But I'm resolute, I'm just going to keep going."
Packham recently shared that he had to have a bodyguard for Winterwatch, telling The Mirror: "A couple of times recently, before the Watches, we've had specific threats for me."
Talking about the need for a bodyguard, he added: "We have had several threats recently that are not death threats but they're saying, 'We're going to harm you'...We've had two in the last month, saying, 'I'm going to harm you and harm your family'."
In 2019, Packham was asked by festival organisers at Dogstival to pull out of an appearance as he had been targeted by abuse following his involvement in an anti-shooting campaign.
What else has been happening on Loose Women?
Loose Women panellist Gloria Hunniford recently found herself in hot water when some viewers accused her of fat shaming Oprah Winfrey on the show.
Hunniford had said of the talk show queen: "Oprah fluctuates a lot. Sometimes she's very overweight and now she looks great. She's very, very thin," sparking an outraged reaction from viewers.
Winfrey has been open about taking weight-loss medication. In December 2023 she told People magazine: "It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself... I didn’t feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault."
In the same interview, she admitted to using weight-loss medication to achieve her current shape, saying: "I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way."
Loose Women airs on ITV at 12.30pm on weekdays.
Read more: Chris Packham
Chris Packham given bodyguard on Winterwatch set after 'specific threats' (Sky News, 1 min read)
Springwatch's Chris Packham sacked by charity over 'political views' (Digital Spy, 2 min read)
Chris Packham opens up about tragic event that made him feel suicidal (Daily Echo, 2 min read)
