Claims in newspaper advertisements placed by Save the Badger - a campaigning organisation run by charity Secret World Wildlife Rescue - have been ruled as being untrue and unsubstantiated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), following a complaint by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
The advertisements, published in May this year, encouraged members of the general public to oppose badger culling, and called on them to write to the Welsh Assembly Government and the Rural Affairs Minister opposing plans to cull badgers in north Pembrokeshire.
But the ASA ruled that claims made in the advertisements repeatedly breached Truthfulness, Substantiation, and Matters of Opinion codes. The advertisements breached ASA codes a total of nine times.
Save the Badger is affiliated with Somerset-based charity Secret World Wildlife Rescue, which specialises in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of wild animals. Patrons of the charity include wildlife film maker Simon King and novelist Jilly Cooper.
"Once again, a campaigning group has been found guilty of misleading the general public regarding the issue of badger culling," said FUW bTB spokesman and vice president Brian Walters.
"This ruling clearly shows that Save the Badger is either incapable of understanding basic scientific principles regarding badgers and bTB, or that they are prepared to mislead the general public in order to try and stop badger culling going ahead.
"Whichever is true, they have shown utter contempt for the people of Wales, and are likely to have misled thousands of people into campaigning against badger culling based on their false propaganda."
The advert claimed that WAG’s proposed badger cull had "no scientific justification", would "exterminate a native breeding species", and that "young (badger) cubs will starve underground", all three of which were ruled by the ASA as breeching Truthfulness, Substantiation, and Matters of Opinion codes.
"Badger culling reduces bTB in cattle, and is scientifically justified. The badger organisations may not like it, but that doesn’t give them the right to lie to the general public," said Mr Walters.
"Save the Badger should now issue a public apology to the people of Wales, admit that culling is the only tried and tested way of reducing TB in cattle in areas where badgers carry the disease, and admit that culling will only reduce badger numbers, not eradicate them."
Regarding a claim in the advert that "Killing badgers does not work", the ASA ruled that the claim was likely to be understood by the public as a reflection of the advertiser’s subjective view, but that it was not capable of "objective substantiation".
The statement was ruled not to have been misleading as it was clearly an expression of Save the Badger’s opinion.
"We have no problem with Save the Badger expressing their opinion, and accept the ASA’s ruling on this point," said Mr Walters.