A senior councilor has blasted a bus company for carrying Veganuary adverts – calling it a ‘disgrace’ that pro-vegan ads are running in an agricultural country.
Shropshire Deputy Council Leader, Steve Charmley, is a former dairy farmer whose son is a farmer.
He made his comments last week in a series of tweets, in which he criticized bus company Arriva, and said he wanted to stop the ‘fake news’ of ‘vegangalism’.
Vegan adverts
“C’mon Arriva Salop it’s a disgrace to run this advert in Shropshire,” he wrote. “You are being used to promote the fake news of vegangalists! If it was a political poster it wouldn’t be allowed.
“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 [sic]! I am asking to meet with Arriva to discuss. I hope @NFUShrops does the same. #vegansneedfacts.”
Bus statement
The bus company in question – Arriva – responded by releasing a statement saying: “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. spokesperson said.
“We take all complaints and customer feedback seriously and we are working with the third party to investigate.”
Charmley has deleted his Twitter account since making the comments.