The guidelines were formulated by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO), an umbrella organisation working towards animal welfare.
Television advertisements featuring animals and birds may soon be a thing of the past. After the latest Volkswagen Polo commercial, which featured the car speeding through a herd of buffaloes and rhinoceros, drew ire from animal lovers, a new set of guidelines on depicting animals in advertisements will be implemented by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
The guidelines were formulated by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO), an umbrella organisation working towards animal welfare. In the past, the NGO had requested the ASCI to initiate action against advertisements which showed animals in poor light.
The guidelines state that no unweaned animals be used in advertisements; and bullfighting, cockfighting, fighting between mongooses and snakes, hunting, etc, not be featured in commercials. Also, there should be no confinement of wild, exotic and endangered animals for commercials.
“These are just a few guidelines and we hope advertisers follow them. We are also appreciative of ASCI, which was instrumental in withdrawal of certain advertisements,” said Chinny Krishna, chairman, FIAPO.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had also asked ASCI, a self-regulatory body for advertisements, to regulate the depiction of animals in commercials. The Polo commercial was pulled off air by Volkswagen after protests.
Recently, a series of commercials by a telecom giant, which featured pugs, became very popular. But, animal lovers claimed that the dogs were made to work in hot conditions for a long time and sometimes even beaten up. “Advertisements have a significant influence on peoples’ behaviour. We request you to incorporate our recommendations, so as to ensure that advertisers do not depict violence against living beings and help us save them from being subjected to abuse, pain and suffering,” wrote Maj Gen (Retd) Dr RM Kharb, chairman, AWBI, in his letter to ASCI.
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