Wasps need saving too, says Packham

CHRIS Packham has criticised eco-warriors who care about the rainforest while ‘persecuting’ wasps at home.

The TV presenter has said it is not sufficient to worry about crises thousands of miles away – but to ignore Britain’s suffering wildlife.

He hopes his new documentary, filmed at a waterhole in Tanzania, will help viewers think more about how to live alongside wild animals. ‘It is not enough to gaze overseas and get very upset about the rainforest coming down,’ he said.

‘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 wi t h lions and elephants is a little bit harder than living with foxes and badgers and we’re not good at that.’

Packham added: ‘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.’ Packham, 59, said building your own waterhole can ‘transform’ a small area to help nature. ‘You won’t be attracting elephants and buffalo, but you can see how that will transform your small space,’ he added. ‘By putting a washing-up bowl in your garden, you’re offering an enormously increased benefit.’ Hi s documentar y Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis, presented wi t h biologist Ella Al-Shamahi, will be shown on BBC2 at 9pm tonight.