Allergy victims’ fury at Peter Rabbit film

THE new Peter Rabbit film is facing calls for a boycott over a scene in which bunnies attack a man with blackberries knowing he is allergic to them.

Allergy sufferers said the incident, in which the man quickly becomes seriously ill, amounts to ‘food bullying’.

Several groups representing allergy sufferers have condemned the scene, prompting the hashtag #boycottpeterrabbit on social media.

The film, a mix of animation and live action based on the Beatrix Potter tales, has just been released in the US and will be seen here next month. It features the voice of James Corden as Peter Rabbit and there are also voice roles by Daisy Ridley and Margot Robbie, and live action roles played by Domhnall Gleeson, Rose Byrne and Sam Neill.

But a petition by Australian group Global Anaphylaxis Awareness and Inclusivity (Globalaai), which has already attracted more than 4,000 names, is calling for Sony Pictures to apologise.

The group claims the film ‘mocks the seriousness of allergic disease and is heartbreakingly disrespectful to the families of those that have lost loved ones to anaphylaxis’ – a life-threatening allergic reaction. A US group called Kids with Food Allergies Foundation has also posted a Facebook warning to parents about the film.

In the scene Peter and his friends attack the nephew of Peter’s arch-enemy Mr McGregor with blackberries.

They know Tom McGregor is allergic to the berries, and at one point even shoot one into his mouth. After becoming ill he has to inject himself in the leg with adrenaline to combat the allergic reaction.

Parents expressed their dismay on social media. One mother said: ‘I have watched my son go into anaphylactic shock. That was NOT funny.’