This is what the controversy was about.
Although I believe the Advertising Standards Authority was correct in ordering
an animal rights pressure group to take down the poster featuring Baby P abuser
Steven Barker, part of me thinks that it raised an important subject.
Namely
that, as Community Care has reported in the past, research shows that many
children who abuse animals have behavioural problems in later life.
It
isn't a given, but evidence suggests a strong connection.
As my
colleague Molly Garboden pointed out yesterday, the animal welfare group in
question, Peta, has a history of using shock tactics in its attempts to raise
awareness.
The
latest drive went further and, placed as it was in Haringey - the home borough
of Baby Peter Connelly - it was always likely to offend.
Peta stepped over the line, but it ruined a golden opportunity to highlight an important child protection issue, while at the same time promote its own causes.
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