Amazon to change pig 'swill feeding' advert
Swill feeding has been banned in the UK since 2001.
The National Pig Association (NPA) has welcomed a promise from Amazon to change an advert featuring a pig being fed kitchen scraps.
The advert in question is for the Amazon Echo Dot and has appeared in cinemas across the UK. In a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said the practice is classed as swill feeding, which has been banned in the UK since 2001.
She called on the ASA to remove the advert, ‘‘keeping ASF and other awful notifiable diseases out of the UK pig population".
A complaint was also made to the ASA by vet Duncan Berkshire of the Pig Veterinary Society to remove the footage "from all media immediately".
On Friday (3 May), the ASA contacted Duncan and Zoe informing them that they would be taking their complaints seriously.
The ASA wrote: "We think you have a valid point and, with a view to acting quickly, we instructed Amazon to change their ad. We asked them to remove the scene in question, and I’m pleased to advise that we have received an assurance from them that they will make that change should the ad appear again.”
Zoe said: "This is an excellent result. We are really pleased the ASA understood the seriousness of our complaint and reached the same conclusion. We also welcome what appears to be Amazon's promise to remove the footage from future adverts. And we hope this sends out a message to other media outlets and advertisers.
"We also stressing yet again how important it is that all pig owners adhere to the swill feeding - and that means not feeding kitchen waste, even if it doesn't contain meat."
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
