An advert for Peta has been banned after it claimed that wool is just as cruel as fur.
The adverts, seen on the sides of buses in February, read: Dont let them pull the wool over your eyes. Wool is just as cruel as fur. Go wool-free this winter.
Ten people complained that the cruelty claim was misleading because sheep needed to be shorn for health reasons so it wasnt right to compare wool to fur.
But animal rights charity Peta claimed abuses and suffering in the fur trade had also been documented in the wool industry they just were not as well known by the public.
The organisation said research indicated that the need to shear sheep was a result of selective breeding over the years by humans to increase the yield of wool for use in textiles.
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It said the industry had created unnatural animals with the use of artificial selection and genetic manipulation that led to a genetic condition which caused them to suffer as they may overheat and would undergo the pain and stress of shearing.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad was presented as a factual claim and a direct comparison between the fur and wool industries.
It noted that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs guidelines for livestock welfare state that every mature sheep should have its fleece removed at least once a year by experienced and competent trained shearers who should take care in ensuring that the sheeps skin was not cut.
Additional guidance covered the health, treatment, transportation and living conditions that sheep should be kept in for the overall benefit of their welfare, which the ASA said demonstrated that in the UK, there were standards to pRead More – Source
