Hackney Pledges to Pull Meat and Dairy Ads From Council Sites in UK First

Hackney Mayor Zoë Garbett has committed to removing meat and dairy advertising from council-owned land in the East London borough, making it the first UK local authority to do so. The pledge is part of the national campaign Gag Big Ag by Adfree Cities, which aims to ban such advertisements from billboards, bus shelters, and screens controlled by local councils.

The UK's restrictions on high-fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) advertising do not apply to outdoor advertising, leaving councils with the power to limit what appears in public spaces. Adfree Cities argues that the majority of farmed animals in the UK are raised in intensive systems and that advertising often glamorizes these products without showing the reality of how they are produced. Hackney's decision follows similar measures in the Netherlands, where cities like Amsterdam have already banned meat and fossil fuel advertising in public spaces.