‘Race to Survive: New Zealand’ Contestant Disqualified After Breaking the Law
A contestant on USA Network’s reality series Race to Survive: New Zealand was knocked out of the competition after breaking a law regarding hunting protected species.
Spencer ‘Corry’ Jones of ‘Race to Survive: New Zealand’ killed and ate a protected bird
Race to Survive: New Zealand follows nine, two-person teams as they fight to navigate 150 miles of harsh terrain in the hopes of winning a $500,000 prize. During their journey, they also have to find their own food and water. After each leg of the race, the slowest team is eliminated.
Spencer “Corry” Jones and his partner, Oliver Dev, are whitewater river rafting guides from Wyoming. They were among the favorites to win the competition, but a shocking off-screen move from Corry ended in their disqualification in episode 8.
At camp, Jones killed a weka, a curious, flightless bird. The weka is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species and is legally protected in New Zealand, according to CNN. The penalty for killing a weka can be up to two years in prison or a $60,000 fine.
‘Race to Survive’ cast member apologizes for his ‘mistake’
In footage from the show, Jones said extreme hunger led him to kill the bird.
“OK, so I made a mistake,” Jones confessed after the rest of the cast had been informed of his team’s elimination. “It was short-sighted. It was foolish … there’s creatures running around camp that we’re not allowed to eat. You get into that mindset of starvation mode … there’s this very deep need to eat.”
“There was this idea: Just break the rule,” he added.
In hindsight, Jones realized he’d made the wrong decision.
“What I did disrespected New Zealand, and I’m sorry,” he said. “To go out this way is super heart-wrenching.”
Though Jones faced serious consequences for killing the weka, authorities in New Zealand decided to let him and the show’s producers off with a warning.
“The unique set of circumstances – cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation – meant we felt a warning letter was prudent,” Dylan Swain, the department’s team lead for investigations, told CNN.
“Nonetheless, killing and eating a native protected species in this matter is unacceptable and the company is ‘on notice’ about the need for its program participants to adhere to conservation legislation.”
‘Race to Survive’ winner reacts to controversy
Jones and Dev’s disqualification left three teams in the running for Race to Survive’s grand prize. Smokejumpers Ethan Greenberg and Tyrie Mann Merrill ultimately finished first. In a post-finale interview with TV Insider, Merrill shared his thoughts on the controversy with Jones and Dev.
“It didn’t change anything game-wise or emotional,” he said of the pair’s disqualification. “If anything, it was a bad situation. Everyone was not stoked about it. It wasn’t cool. It was something they shouldn’t have done.”
Merrill said he was confident he and Greenberg would have still won even if Jones and Dev had not been kicked off the show.
“Afterwards, for us, we stuck to the plan and kept it going and rolling and continued to do what we were doing,” he said. “I don’t think it would have changed anything had they stayed in the end. Those guys were breaking pretty bad. I think they would have been lucky to place.”
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