Outrage as Apprentice star claims koala fur should be sold to raise money for charity
23 January 2020, 11:11 | Updated: 23 January 2020, 11:19
Ryan-Mark Parsons has been branded 'sick and grotesque' for claiming the fur of koalas killed in the Australian fires should be sold off.
An ex-Apprentice contestant has been slammed on social media for suggesting that the fur of dead koalas should be sold to raise money for charity.
Ryan-Mark Parsons, 19, was branded 'grotesque' by Good Morning Britain viewers after he suggested that selling the fur of the animals killed in the Australian bush fires could be used to raise money for the sick animals.
His suggestion was also met with disgust by host Susanna Reid, who questioned him on his 'sick idea'.
He replied: "I don't think it's a sick idea because the purpose of this is to raise money for the sick animals.
"The animals are dead so if we can use the money to save other animals, i don't see what is the issue."
Fellow guest and animal campaigner Wendy Turner-Webster responded that the idea was 'distasteful', adding: "What's fundamentally wrong about your plan is that it perpetuates the idea that fur is a valuable commodity."
Ryan-Mark then argued: "What we're promoting is a one-off initiative to raise money for charity.
"It could be a scarf to memorialise the animals."
Viewers at home were shocked by his suggestion, with one writing: "Respect the dead, and don’t promote the fur trade! This will just influence koala poaching when people realise how much you can get for it! #goodmorningbritain".
Another added: "What a ridiculous idea! All up for helping animals in #Austriallafires but using dead Koala fur to ‘help’ the others, whilst reigniting a demand for a ‘niche’ market is crazy? Get him off the TV".
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