‘Gruesome’: BBC host Bruce Parry suffocated goat to death on TV

A TV host has been left shaken after he was forced to kill a goat with his bare hands during the filming of a documentary. Warning: Graphic

BBC presenter Bruce Parry was forced to suffocate a live goat with his bare hands in shocking scenes for his new documentary series.

The Tribe with Bruce Parry returned for the first time since 2007, marking Parry’s first TV

project in a decade, The Sun reported.

In episodes already on BBC iPlayer, the 56-year-old finds himself in the deep end quite quickly, with episode two seeing him meet an indigenous tribe called The Mucubal in Angola.

The star is gifted a goat by one of the tribe’s leaders as a welcome, and a perplexed Parry asks what he should do with it.

He’s told he must kill it then and there, and Parry looks horrified.

View the confronting footage in the video player above.

Bruce Parry couldn't believe his ears. Photo: BBC

The host did what he was told. Photo: BBC

In a voiceover, he explains that animals are essential for the tribe for sustenance, currency and gifts.

It is also a demonstration of the man’s wealth and generosity, meaning it would be extremely rude to reject the offering.

A nervous Parry asks how to kill the goat and other men show him how they use suffocation.

Parry explains to viewers that they use that technique so they don’t waste the animal’s nutrient-rich blood.

The men then help hold the screaming goat down while a Parry places his hands around the goat’s mouth and nostrils to suffocate him.

As the stomach-churning scene continues and the goat jolts, Parry admits: “This is the most gruesome thing I have ever done.”

Bruce Parry was horrified by what he had to do. Photo: BBC

He was visibly shaken by the experience. Photo: BBC

He then repeats “Oh my God” on a number of occasions and says: “I wasn’t given any time to consider it or anything, it’s like they held it and said you have to hold this now … so I did.”

An emotional Parry is then told the goat is dead and he takes a deep breath as he sits back.

He then says: “It’s a very odd feeling, feeling the life force of an animal disappear in your own hands … not a feeling I’d necessarily want to have again.”

Speaking about the shocking moment in a new interview with Radio Times ahead of the show’s release, Parry recalled how hard it was to carry out.

“It was difficult, suffocating a goat,” he admitted.

“But I could be the most ethically minded person at home in the UK but still by simply getting on a bus, I will have a much larger impact on the planet than any one of these people. Who am I to judge them?”

This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.

Originally published as ‘Gruesome’: BBC host Bruce Parry suffocated goat to death on TV