http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8397691.stm
It was killed and eaten by hungry people!!! Even if they were taking part in a silly tv show.
There was mre thinking Aussies were above this kind of cr@p.
I agree, apparently people actually watch that programme 😯
Seems fair to me. The important bits are:
"Production staff have to submit a notification form to the RSPCA or Animal Welfare League - both are charged with responsibilities under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
"But we received no pre-notice or advice this segment was going to occur, it happened on a day no animals were featuring in production, so we didn't have an officer there," he said.
and
"The killing of a rat for a performance is not acceptable. The concern is this was done purely for the cameras," he said.
So there is suggestion that they just killed it for shock publicity, rather than for practical reasons, and because they didn't follow the industry rules they can't prove otherwise.
No biggie - what do y'all thing Chicken McNuggets come from? 
Much more impressive if they'd killed of the camera crew and eaten them instead.
What a load of tripe!
If you were hungry you would do the same. Should be the producers of the show that get the punishment rather than the guys on it.
"If you were hungry you would do the same"
But then there's no actual reason for them to be hungry... It was an artificial situation created for a TV show, not a survival situation, and that seems to make the difference for some people. Though it's no different from recreational hunting- no different at all to people who hunt with birds for rabbits or other birds and eat those, they could have gone to Iceland.
TBH I find it pretty hard to care that much about the fate of a rat. If they'd roasted it alive over a fire, sure.