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An animal-rights activist is urging people not to kill mosquitoes, but instead to let the insects bite them.

Aymeric Caron, who is also a French TV presenter, says the insects suck human blood to obtain protein for their eggs and should not be swatted in the prcoess.

He said that killing mosquitoes is "embarrassing for anti-specists who realise they are being attacked by a mother trying to nourish her children," according to the Independent .

Anti-specists are people who argue that all species should be treated equally.

Mr Caron, who describes himself as an anti-specist, says he always allows himself to be bitten by mosquitoes, except in Africa, where there is a risk of catching malaria.

In a video, he said: "One can consider that a blood donation from time to time to an insect who is only trying to nourish her children is not a drama."

(Image: Getty Images)

But British animal protection workers have said his comments are "a step too far" and "an unhelpful distraction".

Caron also said it was better to use natural mosquito repellents like citronella, lavender oil or garlic, to wash regularly and avoid using perfumes.

Malaria: The Facts What is malaria?

It’s a life-threatening disease transmitted to humans through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. Once an infected mosquito bites a human, the parasites multiply in the host’s liver before infecting and destroying red blood cells. What are the symptoms?

Early symptoms include fever, headaches, vomiting, sweats and, if it is severe, multiple convulsions, abnormal bleeding and clinical jaundice. How can you prevent getting malaria?

If you are travelling, go to the doctor and get a course of antimalarials. Charlie urges, ‘Don’t be blasé. Take the full course of antimalerials. I now know you’ve got a much higher risk of getting it if you don’t.’ And what if you do have symptoms?

Early diagnosis is critical and anyone showing signs should be tested immediately. If treatment is required, it aims to eliminate the parasite from the patient’s bloodstream. Every 2 minutes a child dies of malaria and it keeps more children out of school in Africa than any other disease – even though it’s totally preventable and treatable.

(Image: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Toni Vernelli, the UK head of animal-welfare group Animal Equality, said she would draw the line at “parasites that carry malaria and kill millions of people a year”.

“For most people, this is a step too far and a distraction. It’s unhelpful in trying to educate people about the suffering of animals in factory farms, and is unrelated to animal welfare campaigns,” she said.

The World Health Organization reports that there were 219 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2017, and 435,000 deaths.