Chris Packham Doubles Down On Jeremy Clarkson Farm Comments

Chris Packham is standing by his recent comments about Jeremy Clarkson’s farming series.

Earlier this month, the Springwatch host shared his take on the opening sequence of Clarkson’s Farm during an appearance on Celebrity Gogglebox, claiming: “That’s not what a farm looks like. Most farms are horrible monocultures which have been sprayed with deadly chemicals, time and time again, the ground pumped full of fertiliser, and loads of the animals are indoors – in crates, being crushed and kept in the dark.”

He then added: “That’s an idealistic view of a farm, and it puts the wrong idea in people’s minds. And that’s only the [opening titles]!”

Responding in his column in The Sun, Clarkson fired back: “The endlessly angry Chris Packham went on Gogglebox this week and erupted in blind fury about the Winnie the Pooh-ish opening credits to my farming programme.

“Now, of course this kind of stuff plays well in a room full of nose rings and Palestine flags at a vegan activist meeting in Hackney. But he was on a television programme, and it didn’t play well at all. Because it’s b*****ks.”

The former Top Gear presenter then claimed that Packham had even spent some time at his Diddly Squat Farm more than a decade ago, maintaining: “If there had been some animals in a crate, being crushed, I’m sure he would have noticed and said something.”

In a statement to HuffPost UK, Packham insisted that “Clarkson is being disingenuous” and that “industrial farmers are making a smokescreen to hide their horrors”.

He said: “I made the comments about the silly idealistic stereotyped cartoon at the top of his programme, he knows that. And he knows it paints an entirely unrealistic image of most of [the UK’s farms].

“The industrial farming fraternity love Clarkson’s Farm because it gives them something pretty to hide behind, a friendly flagship of good ol’ wholesome values. The truth is so very different, and it’s a truth that needs to be told for the sake of animal welfare, wildlife, human health and a secure environmental future.”

He added: “They can shoot at the messenger, but they will not silence the truth, even if Jezza has a big mouth.”

HuffPost UK has contacted Jeremy Clarkson’s team for additional comment,

Packham has become known for his outspoken views when it comes to matters of the environment and animal rights in recent years, which has included repeatedly slamming ITV’s I’m A Celebrity for its use of live creatures in its “Bushtucker Trials”.

Back in 2019, he was appointed a CBE in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honours for his services to nature conservation.