LONDON (Brand Republic) - An anti-foxhunting advertisement for the RSPCA has been criticised as “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority.
The newspaper ad ran in seven national newspapers. It showed a dead fox and urged people to write to their MPs saying, “Independent polls have consistently shown that most people in this country agree with us”.
But the ASA upheld a complaint that, according to an NOP opinion poll carried out in December, only 48% of people favour a total ban on hunting. It found 51% of people supported either self-regulation or regulatory supervision.
The ASA said the survey “contradicted the implication in the ad that independent polls consistently showed that most people wanted foxhunting banned” and ordered the group to avoid implying this in future ads.
The RSPCA is appealing against the decision.
Two other complaints against the same RSPCA ad -- one that its inclusion of a section from a government report was “misleading and unfair” and another disputing its claim that shooting was generally held to be the most humane way to kill foxes -- were not upheld by the ASA.