Chris Packham says British nature lovers should not get 'upset about the rainforest' while 'persecuting cockroaches and wasps' on our own doorstep
- Chris Packham, 59, accused British people of being 'armchair' conservationists
- He compared elephants and tigers to 'pests' including cockroaches and wasps
- Packham says he doesn't kill any animals even mosquitos which he brushes off
Chris Packham has said British nature lovers should not get 'upset about the rainforest' while 'persecuting' cockroaches and wasps on our own doorstep.
The controversial Autumnwatch host, 59, bemoaned 'armchair' conservationists ahead of his new BBC Two nature documentary, filmed at a waterhole in Tanzania.
The waterhole was built to draw animals away from human water sources and reduce the competition for the precious resource.
Packham said he hopes his new documentary will help viewers think more about how to live alongside wild animals, including cockroaches and wasps back in the UK.
Chris Packham (pictured in Tanzania with Ella Al-Shamahi for BBC Two documentary Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis) has said British nature lovers should not get 'upset about the rainforest' while 'persecuting' cockroaches and wasps on our own doorstep
![Packham says: 'Look at the way we persecute animals in the UK everything from cockroaches to wasps to pigeons and foxes and all these other things that we call pests and promptly get rid of' [stock image]](http://web.archive.org/web/20201204121456/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/03/17/36413058-9014857-image-a-11_1607017360640.jpg)
![Packham says: 'Look at the way we persecute animals in the UK everything from cockroaches to wasps to pigeons and foxes and all these other things that we call pests and promptly get rid of' [stock image]](http://web.archive.org/web/20201204121456im_/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/03/17/36413058-9014857-image-a-11_1607017360640.jpg)
Packham says: 'Look at the way we persecute animals in the UK everything from cockroaches to wasps to pigeons and foxes and all these other things that we call pests and promptly get rid of' [stock image]
The wildlife enthusiast has previously said that all animals have a role to play, even mosquitos and wasps (pictured), which he says he tries not to kill
It is not enough to 'gaze overseas and get very upset about the rainforest coming down,' he said.
Mr Packham said: 'We're a bit armchair conservation in the UK.
'We want there to be lots of lions and elephants because we love them. But we don't have to live with them.
'And living with lions and elephants is a little bit harder than living with foxes and badgers and we're not good at that.
'Everyone wants tigers, but do you want one in your back garden? Be honest! Not really, because it's going to eat you, your children and your grandchildren.
'Look at the way we persecute animals in the UK everything from cockroaches to wasps to pigeons and foxes and all these other things that we call pests and promptly get rid of.
'And you've got to think that in some parts of the world, elephants are pests, tigers are pests.'
He said: 'We've got 13 per cent of our forest cover left. Places like France have 39 per cent of their forest cover left.
'We've got the most deforested set of countries in Western Europe.
'So, it's a bit cheeky when we've cut all of our own trees down to suddenly start looking overseas and say "Hey, don't cut your trees down".
'From that perspective, we've got to try and empathise.'
Warthogs, giraffes, monkeys and big cats meet and compete for water at the waterhole in Tanzania, in the programme presented by Packham and biologist Ella Al-Shamahi.
Half-submerged cameras were installed in the waterhole, built by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Mwiba Wildlife Reserve, to help illuminate how they support so much wildlife.
Packham wants his new documentary to make viewers think about the problems faced by people 'living alongside' these 'brilliant animals'.
'It's actually a bit tricky, you can't argue with an elephant,' he said.
But he called on people to build their own 'waterhole'.
'You won't be attracting elephants and buffalo. But you can see how that will transform your small space.
'By putting a washing-up bowl in your garden, you're offering an enormously increased benefit.'
Packham said of his own approach to wildlife: 'I don't kill anything. If a mosquito comes to bite me, I brush it off.'
It comes after Packham lost a High Court bid to prevent work on ancient woodlands as part of the HS2 project in November
He was seeking an emergency injunction to stop works that he claimed would cause destruction or 'irreversible and irreparable loss' to such sites.
An African elephant spraying mud over itself to keep cool and protect its skin from the intense sun in Packham's new documentary Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis
Packham applied for the order as part of an attempt to bring a legal challenge over the Government's decision in February to give the green light to HS2.
But at a High Court hearing on November 20, two senior judges refused Packham permission to bring a claim against the Government's decision and did not grant the injunction.
Announcing the court's decision, Lord Justice Coulson said: 'This application has no realistic prospect of success, so we do not grant permission to bring judicial review proceedings.'
- Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis airs on December 4 at 9pm on BBC Two
