The scene in question showed a female dolphin attempting to escape a group of males who trapped her at the surface of the water near the Manawatāwhi Three Kings Islands before mating with her. The nature series Our Big Blue Backyard, which aired on state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand’s TVNZ1 channel, was accused of traumatising children and caused complaints to be made to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).

New Zealand’s media watchdog has reprimanded one of the country’s leading broadcasters for airing footage of male dolphins “brutally” mating with a lone female.