Veganuary adverts have been banned by a major UK bus operator, as an animal rights campaign group have criticised the “discriminatory” decision.

Transport company Arriva pulled two posters, which encouraged people to try a vegan plant-based diet throughout January, from the side of their buses in Shropshire after “numerous complaints from the general public”.

The adverts claimed that cows are “distressed when their babies are taken away from them” and that “most male caves are shot at birth”.

The campaign group Veganuary, which has a local group in Shropshire, paid for two separate adverts to appear on 20 buses over one month, starting from December 9th. But they were notified on Friday that the posters would be pulled after just two weeks.

The move follows controversy earlier this year, after a local Shropshire Councillor Steve Charmley said the adverts should be removed because of the county's agricultural history.