Go Vegan World was accused of using highly “ emotive and anthropomorphic language, applying human emotions to a calf or dairy cow”

Vegan campaigners are free to brand British milk production as inhumane after a ruling by the advertising regulator.

Dairy farmers had argued that an advert stating “humane milk is a myth — don’t buy it” was inaccurate but the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will clear it in a ruling to be published today.

The decision is a blow to the dairy industry, which is losing customers as people switch to vegetarian or vegan diets.

The Vegan Society says that there are more than 540,000 vegans in Britain, up from 150,000 a decade ago. Hard-hitting billboard campaigns warning against consuming milk, eggs and meat have become a common sight on high streets.

Go Vegan World, the campaign group that placed the anti-milk advert in national newspapers