Veganuary Ads Banned From Buses

A major transport company has been accused of censorship after taking down adverts promoting Veganuary from its buses.

Arriva decided to remove vegan banners from the fleet in Shropshire after receiving a complaint. 

 The banners were promoting the vegan month initiative and encouraging people to go vegan in January by informing them about the environmental and ethical impact of animal farming.

A spokesperson for Veganuary said: "Nearly every day, scientists issue new warnings about animal agriculture’s heavy environmental toll and urge us to eat less meat.

‘And every dairy farmer knows that cows, like all mammals, must have a baby in order to produce milk and it is standard practice to separate the calf from the mother within 24 hours. 

‘People have a right to know this and decide if it is something they are happy to support."

  Arriva said the ads were not taken down because of their content but because of an error in signing off the ads by the third party company.  

Arriva’s spokesperson said:

"Advertising on our buses is managed by a third-party company where an approval process is in place.

‘A recent customer complaint brought it to our attention that our agreed sign off process with the third-party had not been followed on this occasion. Arriva is and continues to be impartial. We have taken steps to review our approval process with the third-party and are working with them closely on this matter."

 The ads were placed on the buses on December 9 for a month. Arriva offered Veganuary a full refund but instead, the charity wants the bus operator to run the ads again.

Local vegan activist Jo Reff, told the Telegraph: “I feel distraught. We spent so much time and effort fundraising for these posters. We want to increase awareness of the vegan cause. To find them offensive is just not acknowledging the truth."

 “We want to highlight that this is very discriminatory against vegans. If we complained to Arriva that we found turkey pictures on the side of a bus, they wouldn’t listen to us."

“We don’t know who complained and Arriva will not elaborate. But if it’s anything like last year, it is likely to be the local farming community. 

“It is a completely unfair decision.”