Council leader calls for vegan ads to stop in 'county built on agriculture'

A number of Arriva buses in Shropshire feature ads encouraging people to give up animal products for January
A number of Arriva buses in Shropshire feature ads encouraging people to give up animal products for January

A Shropshire council leader has criticised 'Veganuary' adverts seen in the county because of its proud agricultural history.

The advert campaign, which can be seen on the back of seven buses in Shropshire, advocates a plant-based diet, free of meat, dairy and other animal products, for the public to commit to.

The deputy council leader Steve Charmley has used Twitter to criticise the bus firm Arriva for promoting “fake news of vegangalists”.

He tweeted: “Whilst I don't object to anyone choosing what they eat and when they eat it, I really object to Arriva buses running Veganuary adverts in Shropshire, a great county built on agriculture.”

The Conservative council leader, who comes from a farming background, has called on the bus firm to meet him.

An Arriva spokesperson said: “Advertising on our buses is managed by a third-party company, which works with us to ensure the messages we display onboard our fleet do not cause offence to our passengers or the general public.

“We take all complaints and customer feedback seriously and we are working with the third party to investigate.”

Farmers are concerned that January is now a time when the industry argues with a torrent of false claims of crimes against animal welfare, the environment and human health.

Last week, livestock farmers criticised the campaign for spreading 'misguided and misleading' messages about food, farming and the environment.