Play School - 50th Anniversary1:58

THE ABC has been accused of pandering to political correctness by changing the lyrics of an iconic Aussie children’s song.

When kids tuned in to watch Play School this week, they found that they were no long encouraged to go on a “bear hunt” as they were in the classic educational tune, rather they will be told they are going on a “bush hunt” — whatever that is.

And if that wasn’t enough to rankle the anti-PC brigade, the controversial amendments don’t end there.

In an episode broadcast in the past week, the lyrics were changed from:

“We’re going on a bear hunt (x2). We’re going to catch a big one. I’m not scared. What a What a beautiful day.”

To:

“We’re going on a bush hunt (x2). We’re going to find some treasure. We’re so excited (excited shrieking). What a beautiful day.”

2GB host Ben Fordham slammed the “left-leaning” public broadcaster on air this afternoon saying it has “changed the words to the kids’ classic to fit PC standards”.

“Obviously, the national broadcaster has decided this classic children’s song is no longer appropriate for children,” Fordham said.

“Are they trying to tackle the epidemic of children killing bears in Australia? Cases of kids with shotguns shooting bears?”

However, an ABC spokesman told news.com.au the lyrics to the song were adapted to suit a specific episode that was based on an Australian bush theme and the “bear hunt” song would still be played with its original lyrics in future episodes.

“We approach every episode from a children’s perspective and ensure the content is engaging and easy to comprehend,” the spokesman said. “We regularly adapt the lyrics of familiar songs to help us in that endeavour.

“On this occasion, the lyrics of the song We’re Going on a Bear Hunt were adapted to suit a specific episode that was based on an Australian bush theme, the core learning value of which was orientation through map reading literacy.

“Adapting the lyrics on this specific occasion from ‘bear hunt’ to ‘bush hunt’ helped us guide the audience on a bush hunt to find a treasure. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt remains a popular and entertaining song, and one we will continue to play in its original form for our Play School audience.”

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