[Amy]

The celebrity housemates will have to indulge in a spot of pheasant plucking as one of their "evil" tasks, the Daily Star claims today.

The eight contestants will be required to remove the feathers of as many dead birds as possible in a three-minute period. Those with the most plucked pheasants when the time elapses will be the winners.

The task is expected to raise protestation from bird lovers and animal rights campaigners. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has said it will "monitor the programme carefully."

A BB source told the newspaper: "There has been a concern that some viewers won't like it. [Producers] are worried, as the pheasants will already be dead, but will still have all their feathers intact. But after some discussion it was decided to stick with the task."

Article Digital Spy

[BusyBee]

After having been around when chickens were being plucked (my grandfather had a small holding with loads of chickens). I hope they are given masks and are not asthmatic. Those feathers get everywhere and I would think pheasants are likely to be the same. Still once you get the knack they are plucked pretty quickly with just loads of feathers flying around.