New Zealand broadcaster scolded over dolphin mating scene

A graphic nature video showing a female dolphin being violently mated by three males is causing an uproar in New Zealand — where complaints from viewers prompted a government watchdog to rule that the broadcaster went too far in airing the clip.

The footage from the TVNZ series “Our Big Blue Backyard” was denounced as distressing for younger watchers as it showed scenes of a “aggressive gang of young males” who “take turns” attacking a trapped female in what is described by the filmmakers as a “seemingly brutal assault,” the New Zealand Herald reported.

The media watchdog group the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) agreed, and chastised the station.

“The sinister music, the language used by the narrator, and the audio of dolphin cries, which could readily have been interpreted as the distressed cries of the female, added dramatized tension to the scene,” they said in its official ruling on the complaint this week.

“The scene also dealt with mature themes, being animal sexual behavior, and included graphic images of this behavior, and a technical description of the female dolphin’s ‘built-in birth control.

“While the acts themselves may have been ‘acts of nature’ and potentially innocuous, the dramatized elements of the broadcast and the treatment of the footage created tension which may not have been inherent in the act itself.”

BSA recommended that the network should have rated the episode as PG, for parental guidance, as opposed to G, for a general audience, but did not impose any penalties, the outlet said.

The watchdog overview was prompted by an initial complaint from Chris Radford, who argued that the episode should have at least had a warning for parents.

“Many child viewers may have found this content deeply disturbing, and the program should have been rated PG to indicate to parents that guidance and explanation may be required for children watching,” he said of the footage.

“While I am happy to concede that animal behaviour should not be seen through the lens of human social norms, the purpose of ratings is to protect vulnerable viewers from being exposed to content that they may find disturbing.

“In the context of human social norms many viewers could and did find the content disturbing and further parental guidance was subsequently required as a result.”

In its official assessment, the BSA added that research identified animal abuse or torture as especially upsetting subjects for children.

The mating scene was critical to the ongoing survival of the Manawatāwhi dolphins, and was therefore relevant to the series’ focus on the fragile marine life around New Zealand , the network added.

TVNZ also noted that the episode aired on TVNZ 1, which typically draws an adult audience, and clarified that the behavior in the clip  “simply shows normal dolphin mating behavior in the wild” that was  “depicted in a manner suitable for a G-rated program: it was factual, educational, and was not unduly dramatized.”

The potentially troubling scene was featured six minutes before the end of the hour-long program that aired at 8:30 p.m. local time – typically past young childrens’ viewing time.