Cruelty charges against Vodafone

In its notice sent to Vodafone April 25, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) said: “The pet dog was made to run, gallop and chase the school van for a long time on a public road. Thereby, the dog was made to undergo severe pain and suffering due to the exhaustion caused by chasing (the bus).”

A spokesman of mobile telephony major Vodafone on Friday denied charges of cruelty to its mascot pug. Officials in Nirvana Films, which had made the ad for Vodafone, said that the AWBI is unaware of modern techniques of filmmaking. No single shot of a television commercial lasts more than 15 seconds at the most and therefore, to suggest that the dog suffered due to exhaustion by chasing a bus is incorrect

The pug, Rocky, the mascot of Vodafone and its earlier avatar Hutch, was certified fit by a veterinary doctor after the filming was completed in South Africa, the counsel for Nirvana Films said. A spokesman of mobile telephony major Vodafone on Friday denied charges of cruelty to its mascot pug.