Atlantic Lottery removes billboard after complaints

The Atlantic Lottery Corp. has decided to take down an advertisement showing a cow stuck on a metal fence and its feet dangling after the ad prompted complaints saying it shows animal cruelty.

There had been billboards spread throughout the Atlantic Provinces showing the controversial image of the animal. The Atlantic Lottery Corp. has said that they will remove the ad earlier than expected and show an adorable family of prairie dogs instead.

The cow image is part of the advertising campaign for a new lottery called ShaBam. After several ads had been put up, many people found the image offensive.

One woman on Cunard Street in Halifax commented that the image depicts animal cruelty and that the lottery corporation should not be showing that ad at all. She added that the image of the cow has nothing to do with the lottery.

Lindsay Shannon, the spokesperson for the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, said that the image would be removed immediately. She also conveyed an apology on behalf of the Lottery Corporation.

“We would like to apologize to anyone who was offended by the image. That certainly was not our intention. Because we’re able to change it and it obviously wasn’t resonating with Atlantic Canadians in the way we intended, we decided to accelerate this change and have this image replaced.”

The spokesperson said that the picture of the cow was selected to show the “quirky and unexpected personality” of the new lottery game in the region.