Discovery’s “Eaten Alive” Angers Audience with Misleading Title

In Discovery Channel's two-hour show called Eaten Alive, the viewers were promised a spectacle of a man getting eaten by an anaconda and hopefully coming out of the experience alive. But to the viewers' disappointment, this was not the case.

The show, which aired Sunday, followed the expedition on the Amazon of conservationist/snake expert Paul Rosolie and his team as they searched for the world's largest anaconda. Most of the show was dedicated to the search and it was only during the last 10 minutes that the audience saw some action, said The National Post.

But to the dismay of the audience who tuned in to see some grisly action, Rosolie called a halt to the entire operation in fear of breaking his arm when the snake started to put its mouth around his head and began to crush his arm.

In response to the negative reaction caused by the failed stunt, Discovery Channel released a statement: "Paul created this challenge to get maximum attention for one of the most beautiful and threatened parts of the world, the Amazon Rainforest and its wildlife. He went to great lengths to send this message and it was his absolute intention to be eaten alive. Ultimately, after the snake constricted Paul for over an hour and went for his head, the experiment had to be called when it became clear that Paul would be very seriously injured if he continued on. The safety of Paul, as well as the anaconda, was always our number one priority."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has issued a statement expressing their outrage over the documentary:  "Last night, despite protests by conservationists, biologists, herpetologists, and decent people everywhere who oppose the abuse of wildlife, the Discovery Channel aired the inexcusable torment of a captured wild green anaconda and several other snakes. 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.

"Study after study has shown that entertainment features such as this one that show humans interfering with and handling wild animals are detrimental to species conservation. Rosolie knows this. Discovery knows this. Yet they chose to contrive and air this shameful stunt for ratings anyway."