According to an as yet unverified Facebook account on the West Yorkshire Hunt Sabs Facebook page, it is rumoured the BBC are 'set to remove the celebrity presenter from our screens, perhaps as early as May', with 'Wild Justice planning to replace him with his stepdaughter, Megan McCubbin'.
The account is in the name of Jayne Griffiths, who is supposedly a member of the West Yorkshire hunt Saboteurs. In her post she wrote:
“We need to think about life after Packham. The current strategy that Megan McCubbin slots into his place is just stupid. She doesn’t have the gravitas.”
The hunt saboteur also gave an illuminating account of the tactics Packham and Wild Justice continue to use to seek public support for pursuing their political agenda. Griffiths went on to reveal in the post:
“We need to promote someone from inside the fold who are capable [like Packham] of:
1) Playing the BBC
2) Fitting into the charities from where major funding comes from
3) Have the charisma that [Mark] Avery and [Ruth] Tingay so sorely lack.”
The tactics used by Packham and his Wild Justice colleagues have been considered by some to be deplorable, pulling at the heartstrings of often unsuspecting victims thinking they are, in some way, helping wildlife. In fact their hard-earned savings can end up doing the very opposite, such as in the case of the general license fiasco. Ms Griffiths’ missive outlines just how cynical the approach of Wild Justice and their supporters really are.
Packham’s recent efforts to try and use the law to silence critics has also not gone down well with his supporters at Wild Justice who, according to the Facebook post, increasingly feel he has tried to overplay his hand by attempting to litigate against an online website, Country Squire.
This legal frenzy started following an article that was published questioning whether Packham had conned supporters out of thousands of pounds to support supposedly orphaned tigers at his girlfriend’s zoo in the Isle of Wight. Question marks were also raised over the charitable status of the zoo.
The Wild Justice supporter, Griffiths, went on to say: “It looks like [Country Squire] will annihilate Packham in court based on the facts”. Further background details on Packham has also been dug up, which, according to the Wild Justice supporter, leaves Packham “Not survivable”.
In a more circumspect but understandable tone, Griffiths continues: “I know talk of Packham’s demise is not popular, but I am reliably informed that he will be facing the axe from the BBC. Major newspapers are asking questions about him and several of us [his supporters] have been called…. dark days are around the corner.”
* Note - C4PMC do not know Jayne Griffiths and have not been able to validate whether that is a real name or a pseudonym.