The RSPCA has had its knuckles rapped by the Advertising Standards
Authority over an anti-hunting press campaign created by Abbott Mead
Vickers BBDO.
The ads, which ran in November 1997, led to four out of nine complaints
being upheld against them in this November’s ASA report.
The RSPCA was criticised for using a photo of a disembowelled fox which
it could not prove was genuine.
The ASA also ruled that the charity had been misleading in suggesting
that hounds killed stags, when most stags are killed by other means,
such as firearms. The RSPCA was asked not to repeat the claims in future
ads.
However, the ASA ruled in favour of the RSPCA on a number of other
points, including claims that some stags are pregnant when hunted.
The findings came in response to 20 complaints from members of the
public, including one from the pro-hunting organisation, the Countryside
Alliance.
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