The Bpex campaign to promote UK pig farming experienced a major setback this week when welfare claims in one of its ads were branded "misleading" and had to be removed.

The advert, which appeared on billboards and in the press during 2008, stated: 'British pig farms have very high welfare standards assured by the Quality Standard Mark.'

However Compassion in World Farming and vegetarian campaign group Viva! complained to the Advert­ising Standards Authority over the claims, which they said were inaccurate.

The ASA upheld the complaint on the basis that several practices prevalent in the pig industry, such as the continued use of tail docking and farrowing crates, suggested that rearing standards could not be described as 'very high'.

The ruling came just a few weeks after Jamie Oliver championed the industry's welfare standards in Channel 4's Jamie Saves Our Bacon.

Describing the ASA's decision as a "real victory for consumers", Compassion in World Farming claimed it would lead to an improvement in food labelling. "Farmers and retailers need to wake up to consumer awareness and stop hoodwinking people with false messages," said the organisation's chief executive Philip Lymbery.

Bpex played down the ruling, stressing that it only applied to posters and not to press or magazine advertisements. "We lost on a technicality because we did not connect the claim made directly with a comparison with the rest of Europe," said head of marketing at Bpex, Chris Lamb.

A complaint had also been lodged over the use of the phrase "pig farmers in the UK already face higher costs than those in Europe, largely due to our higher standards of pig welfare." However, the ASA rejected that challenge.

The ASA also ruled this week that an NFU advert was misleading, following a complaint from Viva!. The advertisement had implied that badgers were the sole cause of the spread of TB in cattle, which was incorrect, according to the ASA.

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