Range Rover

Make
Land Rover
Segment
SUV

As much as we love Clarkson, Hammond and May, their new Amazon show The Grand Tour has been a mixed bag since launching in November. The opening episode was a triumphant return to form, but the show has since attracted controversy. One scene was criticized for showing how to smuggle migrants, while its treatment of animals came under fire from PETA for constructing a car out of meat and bones. And now The Daily Star reports that the show has angered animal welfare activists yet again.

Last week's episode featured a scene in Morocco where Clarkson constructed a set of scales to compare the weight of three convertibles, using a set of animals including cows, goats and camels as a counter balance. As you would expect, the animals became difficult to manage and wouldn't stand still. The solution? Slaughter them. "I think it's better if I kill them. If they're dead, they won't mind," Clarkson said in the episode. Cue a scene of animal carcasses being unceremoniously dumped onto the scale. "This apparent senseless slaughter of animals on our TV screens is unacceptable," Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said in reaction to the barbaric scene.

Animal Aid director Isobel Hutchinson added: "Whether or not the animals were actually killed, the sequence shows a total disregard for the value of animals' lives, suggesting that they can be used and killed for whatever trivial purpose we choose." Again, this was another tactless attempt to cause controversy – the show would really benefit with focusing its attention back onto cars, rather than bogging itself down with cringe-worthy comedy scenes.