Springwatch's Chris Packham sacked by charity over 'political views'
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Springwatch presenter Chris Packham has been sacked as a patron of a charity over his "political" views.
Bird of prey rehabilitation charity Raptor Rescue's chairman said that the naturalist was removed over a year ago, and also claimed that Packham "hadn’t done anything for the charity" in a while. The star has been involved in the charity since the early 90s.
“He was a patron, but we hadn’t heard from him in a long time, he hadn’t done anything for the charity, and we couldn’t contact him,” Malcolm Robbins told The Telegraph.
Related: Why the BBC cancelled Autumnwatch - and the chances of a revival
“The other reason we decided to remove him was he started to get more and more political in his views and that didn’t sit well with our members either.
“So, he wasn’t doing anything for us, and his actions were beginning to split the membership. Our members are people who simply love birds on the one hand and on the other side we have working falconers and people from the countryside who support our work.
“Some people don’t like the political side of his activities and he was becoming a more political person," he added. “He has now even started talking about breaking the law. Irrespective of our personal feelings, as a charity there is no way we could support that.”
Packham has not yet responded to the charity's remarks.
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As part of recent Channel 4 documentary Chris Packham: Is It Time To Break The Law?, Packham suggested that law-breaking in campaigning against climate change policies was "ethically responsible".
However, the comments were made after he was removed as a patron of the charity.
He has also criticised the UK government over its environmental policies.
Meanwhile, earlier this year Packham's documentary Inside Our Autistic Minds won praise from viewers and the National Autistic Society for increasing understanding of the condition and allowing people with autism to speak in their own words.
The presenter was himself diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2005.
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