Anti-dairy ad labelled ‘biased’

An advertisement depicting the grim future of a cow and her calf has been labelled ‘‘loaded and biased against the dairy industry’’.

The advert, which was commissioned by animal rights group SAFE and mounted to a billboard in Auckland, was the subject of an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) complaint.

The billboard shows an image of cow and her calf with a ‘‘rip’’ separating them, accompanied by the words: ‘‘Their first day together, and their last. She was taken for milking. He was taken for slaughter. Choose dairy-free.’’

According to the ASA decision, the complainant said the generic stock photo was ‘‘misleading’’ as the advertiser could not say with certainty what the fate of either animal was. He said that made the advert ‘‘loaded and biased against the dairy industry’’.

SAFE and Media 5, which owns the billboard, said the stock image was a representation of dairy industry practices in New Zealand.

The authority agreed with the complainant in part, ruling the advert breached some advocacy guidelines by failing to display an address or website, in addition to the advertiser’s logo.

However, it said the advert was not misleading, given it was ‘‘illustrative of the probable outcome of most dairy cattle’’.

SAFE said the aim of the advert was to educate the general public, and those concerned about animal welfare.

It said the complainant’s comments implied ‘‘a lack of knowledge of standard dairy farming practices in New Zealand’’.

The advert was based on data showing the majority of calves were removed from their mothers within 12 hours, SAFE said.

In the year ended September 2017, 1.7 million beef and dairy calves were slaughtered, it said.