Animal welfare charity SPANA has been ordered not to repeat an advert in which the charity claimed that donating to SPANA would help British troops in Afghanistan.

A national press advert by the charity which featured a British soldier, an Afghani farmer, a donkey and the strapline ‘Saving her life means his just got easier’ prompted two complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. The complainants said that the charity could not prove that donating to SPANA would benefit service men and women in Afghanistan and that the troops were being exploited in order to garner donations.

The ASA dismissed the suggestion that SPANA was exploiting the troops, but said that while the charity was working to expand a veterinary programme in Helmand – in which British forces provide care for local farmers’ livestock – which may help to improve cross-cultural relations, SPANA could not substantiate its claim that ‘ultimately our brave servicemen and women can benefit from the care which you help us provide’.

Jeremy Hulme, chief executive of SPANA, said the charity is disappointed with the ruling as the charity felt it had made the connection clear. “However, we do accept that the ASA finds it hard to see any direct link between our work in Afghanistan and any trends in the conditions of our troops as there are so many contributing factors.”

“We can confirm that the advertisements will be changed in accordance with the ruling.”