A decision by the Advertising Standards Authority not to uphold complaints against the Morrisons' Christmas TV advertisement has disappointed leading vets.

In December the British Veterinary Association issued a statement and also wrote to Morrisons asking them to withdraw the commercial which showed a child feeding Christmas pudding to a dog.
 
Commenting on the ASA’s decision, Peter Jones, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: “This ruling is disappointing but the ASA has set out its reasons for the decision and we accept those reasons.

"Thankfully, the advert only had a short shelf life and we hope that Morrisons is now very unlikely to make the same mistakes again.

"Overall, we hope the whole incident has served to educate Morrisons and the general public about the dangers of grapes and raisins to dogs.”

The ASA received 234 complaints about the TV advert, including a number from vets, veterinary nurses and others who worked with dogs.

The ASA ruling stated: "Whilst we noted the complainants' concerns that dog owners might not be aware of the possible toxicity of grapes and raisins (and other foods) to dogs, we considered that dog owners would be aware that they should not feed their dogs foods which did not form part of a standard canine diet, and that it was the responsibility of parents to educate their children that they should not feed unsuitable food to dogs.

"We concluded the ad was not irresponsible and did not condone or encourage viewers to feed Christmas pudding to dogs."

For the full ruling click here 

Pet Trade Xtra broke the news about the Morrisons' TV advert back in December. See original story below.