David Attenborough's Planet Earth II 'a disaster for wildlife', says rival producer

‘Springwatch’ star says programme is ‘an escapist wildlife fantasy’ that helps people pretend the destruction of the environment isn’t happening

A rival TV producer has claimed Sir David Attenborough’s acclaimed second series of the BBC’s Planet Earth is a “disaster” because it does not show the damage humans are doing to the environment.

Martin Hughes-Games, a presenter on fellow BBC programme Springwatch, claimed the hit show – which drew audiences of more than 12 million viewers up until it concluded in December – was “an escapist wildlife fantasy” that ignored the evidence of mass extinction and destruction of wildlife by humans.

In an article for The Observer, he said he had “the greatest admiration” for the team behind the programme but said it was “pure entertainment”.

He said: “These programmes are still made as if this worldwide mass extinction is simply not happening.

“The producers continue to go to the rapidly shrinking parks and reserves to make their films – creating a beautiful, beguiling, fantasy world, a utopia where tigers still roam free and untroubled, where the natural world exists as if man had never been.”

He accused Sir David and the producers of “lulling the huge worldwide audience into a false sense of security” and said there was “no hint of the continuing disaster” to “shatter the illusion”.

He highlighted a report by the World Wide Fund for Nature and Zoological Society of London earlier this year which concluded that there was a 59 per cent decline in the worldwide population of vertebrates between 1970 and 2012.

He said: “The prime factor in this destruction is humankind’s insatiable need for space – destroying and degrading habitat at an appalling rate – coupled with species over-exploitation, pollution, invasive species, climate change and rampant poaching.”

The 60-year-old star said programmes like Planet Earth suggested to viewers that “if David Attenborough is still making these sorts of wonderful shows then it can’t be that bad, can it?”

He said a report suggesting giraffes could be heading towards extinction, with numbers plummeting by 40 per cent in the past 15 years, was published while the programme was still on air.

Despite Hughes-Games’ criticism, Sir David did plead for people to make greater efforts towards conservation.

In the final episode he said it was “our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth”.