The Long, Dark History of Animal Killing and ‘Gross Food’ on ‘Survivor’ (2024)

A contestant on the US reality show Race to Survive recently caused quite a stir after killing and eating an endangered New Zealand bird species during filming, prompting a warning from the country's government.

But reality TV has a long history of questionable animal welfare, and Survivor is perhaps the most notorious example. Controversy dates back to the show’s very first season, which aired in 2000, and saw PETA protests outside CBS’ offices in Manhattan after contestants marooned on the island of Pulau Tiga grilled rats. (“It tastes like chicken... if you use your imagination,” said one.)

The show only continued to get gnarlier from there, with pig slaughter, shark hunting and a whole roost of chicken-related shenanigans. Below are some of the most memorable and shocking Survivor moments involving food and animals—and animals as food.

Hog wild

After the huge success of its debut season, Survivor upped the ante for its second, set in the Australian Outback. Catching a few rats wouldn’t cut it—enter contestant Michael Skupin brandishing a knife like Norman Bates and killing a pig. “It looks like a murder scene,” fellow contestant (and future View co-host) Elisabeth Hasselbeck said as Skupin wiped the hog’s blood on his face. A few episodes later, Skupin was medically evacuated after falling into a campfire—perhaps the animal kingdom getting its karmic justice.

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Again, PETA protested. In response, CBS released a statement saying, “We firmly believe that our viewers recognize that hunting and fishing as a means of sustenance have been acceptable since the dawn of time.”

In 2004, the show’s ninth season, Survivor: Vanuatu premiered with a ceremony led by local tribesmen that culminated in the slaughter of a pig. The chief then smeared the swine’s blood on the foreheads of the male castaways as a sign of welcome. “I’m sure PETA will come after us, and good for them,” Probst told the Chicago Tribune.

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Shark attacks

Before battling the courts over alleged tax evasion, Survivor’s first-ever winner Richard Hatch fought with a baby shark on his second stint on the show, during its All-Stars season in 2004. Hatch pulled the shark out from under a rock by its tail only for it to turn around and sink its teeth into his arm. To free himself, Hatch bit back, literally, leaving a distinct set of human teeth marks on the shark's head. “He bit me. I ate him,” Hatch commented after serving the shark up for his tribemates later that day.

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New York firefighter Tom Westman outdid Hatch two seasons later in Survivor: Palau when he jumped into the ocean with a machete and practically chopped a shark in half. "He's a madman," fellow castaway Gregg Carey said while Tom grappled with the bloodied fish.

Rat race

Natalie White's moral dilemma in Survivor: Samoa remains the show's most iconic rat catch. The Southern belle—and eventual winner of her season—bashed a rodent to death with a stick in the most polite manner possible. ("Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. Lord, have mercy,” she exclaimed while doing so.). The killer instinct she embodied in this moment also served as evidence for Natalie’s “winner’s edit,” proving to her castmates and viewers she wasn’t to be underestimated.

Games of chicken

For years, contestants were given chickens as a reward or as part of the “marooning,” a construct in any given season’s premiere episode where the contestants are, literally, thrown off a boat and into the wild. During some seasons, caged chickens were tossed overboard and into the water while players were scrambling for supplies, leading to fan petitions and a statement from the United Poultry Concerns organization.

As part of Survivor: Guatemala, the final four players were treated to a ceremony in which a chicken was sacrificed to the Mayan gods and burned as an offering. After the ritual was over, the contestants were left wondering if eating the barbecued bird would be sacrilegious. Three of the four decided to tempt fate.

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In more recent seasons, however, perhaps a heightened consciousness for animal welfare has changed the game. The relationship between Survivor: Kaoh Rong contestant Tai Trang and Mark the chicken (named after Tai’s boyfriend) spanned the entire season. The San Francisco gardener convinced his tribe to spare their feathered companion, making him instead the tribe's mascot.

(Tai’s compassion for Mark birthed the “Sia Award” — a monetary prize offered by the Autralian pop singer, and Survivor superfan, to her favorite contestants. “She was so taken by Tai’s commitment to protecting a chicken that she awarded him $50,000 of her own money,” host Jeff Probst wrote in an Instagram Story.)

Other players have tried to care for their poultry too. The Black Widow Brigade alliance released their final chicken, Gloria, into the wild on Survivor: Micronesia; on Survivor: Cambodia, eventual winner Jeremy Collins set loose the hilariously-named Juicy J. And Wendy Diaz of Survivor: Edge of Extinction woke up in the middle of the night to free her tribe's chickens (nicknamed Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). All of these chickens later returned to camp of their own accord, however, and were ultimately eaten.

“Gross” food

"In Borneo, this is considered like sushi," Probst explained in episode two of Survivor's first season as he unveiled a bowl of (still alive) beetle larvae, before explaining to contestants that they’d have to eat them.

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This would become known as the “gross food challenge” and was a consistent part of Survivor for decades. The challenge created several memorable—and often shocking—moments, including vegetarian contestant Kimmi Kappenberg refusing to eat a cow brain in the Outback, contestants in Survivor: Africa downing shots of cow blood, Boston Rob Mariano throwing up fafaru (raw fish ​​fermented in seawater) in Survivor: Marquesas and Denise Martin slapping herself as she tried to swallow balut (a fertilized duck embryo eaten in the shell) in Survivor: China.

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It’s now been more than ten seasons since Survivor has included the challenge in a season. Despite many fans loving the mind-over-matter spectacle, others deemed it culturally insensitive in its portrayal of local delicacies as, well, “gross.”

However, that's not the reason we don’t see it. On Survivor’s On Fire podcast, the show’s host Jeff Probst said he wanted to bring the challenge back, but the food stuffs that would be needed—whether balut or grubs— can't be shipped from other countries into Fiji (where the show is now permanently filmed).

So, for now, the gross food challenge is as dead as that rare New Zealand bird.