The New Zealand government has issued a warning to the reality show “Race to Survive: New Zealand” after a contestant killed and ate an endangered bird during the show.
“Race to Survive” features nine teams of two competing for a $500,000 prize by racing across 150 miles of New Zealand wilderness. Contestants must find their own sources of food and water amid the competition.
Contestants were explicitly warned not to hunt wekas, large flightless birds native to New Zealand and protected by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, according to Reality Tea. However, Spencer “Corry” Jones ignored this rule.
“I knew it was breaking the rules, but that’s not important when you’re hungry,” Jones said in a clip released by USA Network.
As a result, his team was disqualified, and he issued an apology.
“What I did disrespected New Zealand, and I’m sorry,” Jones said.
‘Race to Survive’ is ‘on notice’ for the violation
According to The Washington Post, killing a weka can result in a fine of up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars ($59,000) or two years in prison.
After investigating the incident, the New Zealand Department of Conservation decided to issue a warning to Jones and the “Race to Survive” team.
“The unique set of circumstances — cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation — meant we felt a warning letter was prudent,” Dylan Swain, spokesperson for the New Zealand Department of Conservation’s investigations team, told The Washington Post.
“Nonetheless, killing and eating a native protected species in this matter is unacceptable and the company is ‘on notice’ about the need for its program participants to adhere to conservation legislation,” Swain continued.
Why did Jones kill a weka?
The disqualification of Jones’ team was revealed during Episode 8 of “Race to Survive.” Although it was not directly stated during the show what he had done, it was heavily implied.
In an interview with Reality Tea, Jones and his teammate, Oliver Dev, said they knew the disqualification was coming. The weka had been killed earlier in the season, but it took some time for the producers to decide how to proceed with the rule violation.
It was during Race 4 that they were finally informed that a decision had been reached and would be announced at the end of the race.
“For the second half of Race 4, we raced with a dark cloud over us,” Jones told Reality Tea. “We knew that we were out, and we kind of slowed down to enjoy the last bit of our time out there on the race.”
Jones’ team had frequently placed first throughout the show, making their disqualification a shock to viewers.
Jones explained that while they were prepared for the physical demands of the race, they were not prepared for the lack of food, which affected his judgment.
“You get into that mindset of starvation mode, and this slowing down of your cognition,” Jones said in the show after his disqualification. “It’s this mental shift where the thoughts kind of drift a little more and there’s like a very deep need to eat.”
“There was this idea,” he continued, “just break the rule.”