Watchdog bans Animal Aid slaughterhouse advert

Animal welfare campaign group Animal Aid has been banned from running an advert about conditions in British slaughterhouses.

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the advert, which suggested that slaughterhouses routinely ignore the law and brutalise animals because of a lack of CCTV monitoring, should not appear again in its current form.

The ASA upheld a complaint about the national press ad as they said it could give the impression that breaches were occurring in the majority of slaughterhouses.

The ASA noted that Animal Aid had conducted undercover investigations in seven abattoirs and believed they had found instances of legislative breaches and animal cruelty.

However, the agency judged that the claim that slaughterhouses “routinely ignore the law and brutalise animals” was likely to exaggerate the level of abuse and concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

It also rejected Animal Aid’s claim that there was no effective monitoring system in slaughterhouses

Animal Aid claimed the ruling was irrational.

Director Andrew Tyler said: “”The Advertising Standards Authority, by taking the comfortable route of endorsing the status quo, has struck a ringing blow on behalf of animal cruelty. Animal Aid’s slaughterhouse campaign will continue with more determination than ever.’