Ad comparing sheep shearing to fur industry is misleading
AN advertisement claiming that wool is as cruel as fur has been banned by the advertising watchdog, which said that sheep need to be shorn regularly.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the advert by the animal rights group Peta claiming “wool is just as cruel as fur” was misleading and that sheep “were not killed for their wool as animals were in the fur industry”.
The authority also pointed to Government guidance to farmers that sheep should be shorn regularly.
The ban came after 10 people complained about the ad, which was displayed on buses around Glasgow in February and read: “Don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes. Wool is just as cruel as fur. Go wool-free this winter.”
The complainants said the ad was misleading as sheep should be shorn on health grounds.
Peta contended that in the same way animals killed for fur were selectively bred to reach an “enormous size” to increase the value of their pelts, sheep had been “deliberately bred with genetic abnormalities” to increase the wool they yield.
However, the ASA said guidelines from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs say that mature sheep should be shorn at least once a year by “experienced and competent shearers” who take care not to cut the animals’ skin.
The ruling said: “We considered that [this] demonstrated that the main method of obtaining wool from sheep by shearing would not be regarded by consumers as being cruel.”