Porkies in an ad?
Detail:
Oh dear, mini pigs have hit the headlines again, but this time because an ad by a leading breeder was banned by the ASA.
Members of the British Kune Kune Pig Society had complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the Little Pig Farm advertisements that claimed the pigs were “easy to care for” and that the pigs were the “smallest in the UK”, measuring up to 16in when fully grown.
The Society had argued that the ad was misleading because no breed could grow only as tall as 16in, and that as the pigs grew larger, they would most certainly not be easy to care for as pets.
Little Pig Farm did admit that some pigs had been returned to them as they had got too big, but attributed this to their being sold some pigs of the wrong breed for their breeding pool. Those pigs have since been removed, they said.
The ASA subsequently banned the ad for misleading consumers, saying the Cambridgeshire-based farm had not substantiated its claim of pigs growing no more than 12in to 16in. However, it dismissed the complaint that the pigs were not “easy to care for”, saying readers “would understand there was a certain amount of work and effort involved in caring for the little pigs, irrespective of their eventual size”.
Would readers really understand the amount of work required for an animal that is not exactly mainstream? Rescue centres across the country bulge with abandoned cats and dogs, many the result of owners who did not realise how much work they were.
I also wonder how many people who bought these pigs did so out of a genuine love for animals, or because they are the ‘in’ pet – Posh and Becks have them, as does Jonathan Ross. Yet this is the same Jonathan Ross who famously a few years ago adopted four ferrets from a ferret rescue charity, then returned the sole survivor to the rescue (the other three apparently escaped) when he decided to buy his pigs.
What will be the fate of all the ‘mini’ pigs being sold now when the novelty wears off? What will happen if Paris Hilton et al decide to keep meerkats, marmosets or sugar gliders?
Something tells me exotic pet refuges are going to be very busy.
Members of the British Kune Kune Pig Society had complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the Little Pig Farm advertisements that claimed the pigs were “easy to care for” and that the pigs were the “smallest in the UK”, measuring up to 16in when fully grown.
The Society had argued that the ad was misleading because no breed could grow only as tall as 16in, and that as the pigs grew larger, they would most certainly not be easy to care for as pets.
Little Pig Farm did admit that some pigs had been returned to them as they had got too big, but attributed this to their being sold some pigs of the wrong breed for their breeding pool. Those pigs have since been removed, they said.
The ASA subsequently banned the ad for misleading consumers, saying the Cambridgeshire-based farm had not substantiated its claim of pigs growing no more than 12in to 16in. However, it dismissed the complaint that the pigs were not “easy to care for”, saying readers “would understand there was a certain amount of work and effort involved in caring for the little pigs, irrespective of their eventual size”.
Would readers really understand the amount of work required for an animal that is not exactly mainstream? Rescue centres across the country bulge with abandoned cats and dogs, many the result of owners who did not realise how much work they were.
I also wonder how many people who bought these pigs did so out of a genuine love for animals, or because they are the ‘in’ pet – Posh and Becks have them, as does Jonathan Ross. Yet this is the same Jonathan Ross who famously a few years ago adopted four ferrets from a ferret rescue charity, then returned the sole survivor to the rescue (the other three apparently escaped) when he decided to buy his pigs.
What will be the fate of all the ‘mini’ pigs being sold now when the novelty wears off? What will happen if Paris Hilton et al decide to keep meerkats, marmosets or sugar gliders?
Something tells me exotic pet refuges are going to be very busy.
By:
Sandra
Date/time :
27/08/2010
Replies to this topic...
