Watchdog takes action over Animal Aid's pheasant shooting ad
Date of alert:
Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Crime Ref:
Force:
National
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has taken action over a misleading Animal Aid ad which made the claim that pheasant shooting is subsidised by 'taxpayer money'.
In a complaint coordinated by the Countryside Alliance, it explained that no landowner receives any subsidies or other public money in connection with game shooting.
Animal Aid's advert appeared on page two of the Christmas special edition of the Big Issue magazine in December 2023.
The complaint went on to highlight that shooting is entirely privately funded and not supported by subsidy from the taxpayer as the advertisement asserted.
Moreover, it stressed to the ASA that, according 2014 Value of Shooting report, nearly £250 million is spent annually by shoots on conservation efforts and habitat management at no cost to the public purse.
In response to this complaint, the ASA decided that action needed to be taken. It advised the advertiser that in future they must comply with ASA codes, and offered them advice and guidance on doing so.
