A dog milk advert has been banned from the Orbital Asda in Swindon for being too offensive.
The advert by animal rights group PETA asked if people would drink dogs’ milk, given they drink cows’ milk.
But the media company owning the billboard outside the north Swindon Haydon Orbital Shopping Park Asda declined to show the advert, due to it being likely to result in “offence and complaints”.
The advert showed a person suckling on a dog’s teat and asked: “If you wouldn’t drink dogs’ milk, why drink cows’ milk? Try vegan.”
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is known for its controversial public stunts to raise awareness about animal rights.
PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen said about the advert: “What’s truly offensive is that cows in the dairy industry are treated like milk-making machines.
“PETA’s ad sought to encourage Swindon locals to reflect on the fact that humans are the only species on the planet that routinely drinks another animal’s milk, and cows’ milk is no more natural for us than dogs’ milk.”
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A spokesperson called the dairy industry “cruel”, adding: “Most female calves are destined for the same fate as their mothers: they’ll be used as milk machines until their bodies give out and they’re slaughtered for cheap meat.”
It is claimed that the advert was never erected after being declined by the media owner’s legal team, despite the advert being acceptable based on the Advertising Standard Authority’s guidance.
The legal team allegedly believed the supermarket location would result in offence and complaints.
The dog-milk advert was to be shown in the town named as the dog capital of the UK by the Express, with the highest ratio of dogs to humans out of any major settlement - 316.48 dogs per 1,000 humans.
In 2019, a similar PETA advert was rejected in Swindon after it asked: “If you wouldn’t eat your dog, why eat a turkey?”
The advert was shown in other locations leading up to Christmas, but the billboard showing a dog collar on a plate slathered with gravy was rejected by the media owners in Swindon.
The group planned instead to place an “I’m ME, Not MEAT” ad campaign on County Road in December.
The group is perhaps best known for their anti-fur campaigning in London, when activists occupied a central London Burberry store, smearing fake blood across all the windows in protest of the company’s use of fur before chaining themselves to the building.
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