BBC TV - The Castaways

[Guest guest]

A group of people have been " marooned " on a small Scottish island for a year

as a social experiment, to fend for themselves and develop their own social

infrastructure. I haven't been following it myself, ever since I read that

they were to be allowed to " take " (kill, obviously) a predetermined number

of the island's indigenous deer population. At that point I decided the

programme was not for me! However, a cursory glance at the BBC's web site

today revealed the following snippet - maybe there is hope for our species

after all!

Cathy

 

Would you kill an animal that you regarded as a pet if you were starving?

Reports from the island suggest that not all of the Castaways have the

necessary mettle for the job. At the start of the project there were only

two vegetarians, however, confronted with the reality of actually having to

kill their own food, there are now five fully fledged vegetarians and eight

people abstaining from eating red meat - including, curiously enough, the

butcher's wife - Julia Corrigan.

<<...>>

Viewers of the programmes transmitted in January may remember the fiasco

which ensued as the Castaways were taught how to wring a chicken's neck

during the selection process. Having their next dinner look them in the eye

was too much for some of the reluctant trainee-butchers to handle,

especially Ben Fogle, who was tentatively stretching, rather than wringing,

the poor chicken's neck.

<<...>>

Now, after months of island life, the issue remains one of the <<...>>

most testing for the project members. Many of the Castaways have grown too

affectionate of their furry chums, and, even though food is rationed, the

thought of having them dished up for dinner has been too much to bear.