Chris Packham warned not to attend festival due to death threats

Chris Packham’s appearance at a festival for dog lovers has been cancelled following death threats made against the TV presenter.

The Springwatch announced on Twitter that he and his pet poodle Scratchy will not be attending Dogstival this weekend due to threats made against him from members of the shooting community.

Packham said in a video: “The organisers have asked that Scratchy and I not attend due to a heinous amount of very unpleasant bullying from factions within the shooting fraternity.”

But the 58-year-old Blue Planet Live presenter - who has been targeted by abuse following his involvement in an anti-shooting campaign - urged fans not to boycott the event.

Packham said: “I implore you to go along, don’t let the bullies spoil your day out...

“Please, please don’t ever let the bullies win.”

Read more: Extinction Rebellion movement here to stay, says Chris Packham

Packham revealed he had been due to meet a group of young people with autism to learn about the work of their autistic assistance dogs. He urged them to contact his agent so that they could arrange a private meeting.

Actor Peter Egan hailed Packham for graciously agreeing not to attend the festival.

Packham recently backed a successful campaign to ban the shooting of birds, which has angered farmers who will now need to apply for a license to shoot them on their land.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Packham told presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that he and his family have subsequently received death threats and packages containing “human excrement” as part of a backlash.

“The police have spent quite a considerable amount of time at my house over the last few days,” he said.

“We’ve had packages containing human excrement. Last night, I can’t speak too much about what happened last night because I haven’t been in touch with the police yet, but it was much more serious, yeah.”

Read more: Chris Packham says his population growth programme asks important questions

Packham had previously revealed dead crows were left hanging outside his home after he backed the legal restriction on shooting ‘pest’ birds.

The presenter took to Twitter to share an image of the crows, writing: “This was my gate this morning (it was vandalised) @HantsPolice & lawyers have been informed.”

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK