Countryfile presenter Tom Heap: 'schools should visit slaughterhouses as part of the national curriculum'

“I honestly believe that slaughterhouses, intensive chicken barns or crowded pig pens should be open to the public eye. Schools should be encouraged to visit as part of the curriculum,” writes Heap in the latest issue of Radio Times (out Tuesday).

“There could be see-through tunnels, as in an aquarium, through the farm and across the meat-processing floor, for a nice family day out before having a pork pie or some chicken nuggets at the café. Or a salad.”

• Countryfile’s Ellie Harrison on gender pay row: “This is an opportunity for the BBC”
• Countryfile’s Ellie Harrison on fanmail: “people always seem to comment on how a woman looks”
• RadioTimes.com newsletter: get the latest TV and entertainment news direct to your inbox

He adds: “This may sound absurd, but at least install a webcam at every stage of production, put a hyperlink on the final package and brand it ‘The Visible Pig’ or ‘Candid Cockerel’.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wA2XfSGCWY&feature=youtu.be

Also the rural affairs correspondent for BBC News, Heap has tackled controversial issues in the past on Countryfile – particularly on the topic of hunting. He previously interviewed Princess Anne on the debate surrounding badger culling, where the royal claimed gassing the animals was humane – “you go to sleep, basically."

Read Heap’s full interview in the latest issue of Radio Times