Peta poster featuring Baby P killer banned
Steven Barker was jailed over the death Baby Peter
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Wednesday, 03, Feb 2010 10:38
By Richard James.
An animal cruelty campaign featuring the man convicted of causing the death of Baby Peter has been banned.
A poster for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) included an image of Steven Barker, one of the three individuals jailed over the death of the 18-month-old boy, suggesting those who abuse animals were also violent towards people.
The poster, which appeared in Haringey, north London, where Baby Peter died, included the text: "Steven Barker: Animal Abuser, Baby Abuser, Rapist. People who are violent towards animals rarely stop there."
Click here to see the advert
The ad led to a series of complaints and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today ruled against Peta, claiming the poster had been "offensive and distressing".
The ASA overruled the claims that studies show that people who abuse animals when they are young often go on to commit violence against humans.
In announcing its decision the watchdog said: "We noted that, although Baby P died in August 2007, his death was a high-profile, emotive case which continued to get extensive press coverage.
"We acknowledged that some people might therefore find the reference to the Baby P case in the poster exploitative.
"We considered that the claim and image used in the ad had been used in a shocking way merely to attract attention and that the reason did not justify the means in this case.
"We therefore also considered that the ad was likely to cause serious offence and distress to some people."
Defending the advert Peta spokesperson Poorva Joshipura said the campaign had been created to prevent "other children and animals from suffering the kind of shocking abuse that Baby P and Mr Barker's animal victims suffered".
Barker is said to have tortured guinea pigs and frogs in the past.
The 33-year-old was jailed alongside his former partner and Baby Peter's mother Tracey Connelly, 28, and their lodger Jason Owen, 37 over the child's death.
Barker was also convicted of raping a two-year-old girl.
When he died in 2007 Baby Peter was suffering from some 50 injuries, including a broken back, which had gone unnoticed by numerous council workers and health professionals.