Chaser Shaun: We must respect animals’ rights
CHASER Shaun Wallace has insisted he is no fan of caged animals and says he has the utmost respect for the natural world.
Shaun and fellow chasers Anne Hegerty and Mark Labbett found themselves in hot water after they swam with dolphins in the first episode of ITV’S The Chasers Road Trip.
The three swam at Florida’s Dolphin Research Centre, leading to a rebuke from the RSPCA.
“We were disappointed to see animals being used in this way,” a spokesman said.
But ITV hit back: “There is no endorsement of mistreatment of animals in this programme.
“As the show makes clear to viewers, it sets out to challenge and enlighten our understanding of animal intelligence.”
It said the centre is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, “the gold standard in marine mammal care”.
Shaun said: “I make no secret of the fact we should respect animals – we share our habitat with them.
“I made that plain whenever I could.animals should be able to live in their natural habitat instead of man tearing it down.” Asked how he felt about the dolphins scene, he replied: “I’m not a fan of keeping animals in cages for the sake of doing it. If it’s done for scientific research, I can understand it.”
In this week’s final episode, Sunday Express columnist Shaun, 60, sees the very best artificial intelligence (AI) that Japan has to offer. But he said he did worry that AI needed safeguards.
He said: “If you have a situation where we push the boundaries of AI and allow robots to think for themselves, you could have an Orwellian nightmare scenario of Terminatortype machines ruling the Earth.”
In the series, Shaun was found to have the highest “emotional intelligence” among his colleagues.
“I have a lot of empathy with people,” he said. “I feel very, very fortunate, and grateful to be in the position I am. Twenty years ago, I was ‘Shaun who?’. Now I’m ‘Shaun
Wallace off The Chase’. It’s important I use my platform to be myself.
“One gift my father gave to me was to be aware of the world around me. I also had black role models like Pele, Gary Sobers and Muhammad Ali. I knew if I could achieve a fraction of what they did in their lives, I would achieve something.”
The Chasers Road Trip is on ITV on Thursday at 9pm