PETA Is Upset Over the Discovery Channel's Anaconda Stunt

On Sunday night, a man named Paul Rosolie accepted a challenge to be devoured by the world’s largest anaconda for the Discovery Channel’s Eaten Alive. Believe it or not, this made PETA unhappy.

The episode featured Rosolie—described as a “conservationist and adventurer”—in search of an anaconda to perform his stunt. Ultimately, he decided not to complete the feat. “C’mon!” said Twitter. The Hollywood Reporter writes:

While that snake proved elusive, they did capture another serpent that at one point looked as if it was going to try to ingest Rosalie, who was protected from direct contact by a custom suit. However, Rosolie was forced to call the whole thing off before he could see his plan to fruition, believing that his arm would be broken if the attempt were not put to a stop.

Prior to this episode, PETA had already given a strong “nope” to this series. In a statement today, the organization again criticized all parties involved and the “inexcusable torment of a captured wild green anaconda and several other snakes.” PETA’s Senior VP of communications Lisa Lange wrote:

“The animals were removed from their water habitat and transported to a filming location, and the chosen snake was deceived into using her precious energy reserves to constrict a human being pretending to be a pig, all for a publicity stunt.

“Under natural conditions, anacondas go weeks and even months between meals, eating only when necessary for survival and expending the tremendous amount of energy required to attack, constrict and consume large prey only when the payoff outweighs the risk. Paul Rosolie and his crew put this snake through undeniable stress and robbed her of essential bodily resources. She was forced to constrict and then not allowed to eat.

According to THR, Rosolie’s noble mission was “to draw attention to the ecological crisis currently threatening the West Amazon from mining, illegal logging and rapid deforestation.” Okay.