Outrage After Camping Advertisement Of Man Eating Bat Sandwich Surfaces In Australia, Probe On

An advert that shows a man eating a bat sandwich is being investigated by Australia's advertising watchdog.

Australian camping retailer Boating Camping Fishing store (BCF) released an advert designed to encourage people to explore their own backyard while there remain several travel restrictions around the world. In the video, an Australian family can bee seen fishing and camping when a man jokes that the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic was caused by someone eating a bat.

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The joke refers to the belief that the coronavirus pandemic originated from China due to the consumption of bats as a delicacy, and jumping to humans in a wet market at Wuhan in late 2019.

While early cases emerged from a live animal market in Wuhan, China, there has been no definitive proof it was how the virus originated and spread.

A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Bureau told the BBC that the ad watchdog has received several complaints about the BCF¡¯s commercial. The spokesperson added that Ad Standards is in the process of assessing these complaints to see if they raise an issue.

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Ad encourages all to explore their backyard

A BCF spokesman had earlier told Australian media that the light-hearted marketing campaign recognises that many Australians will be staying home this summer and encourages them to explore their own backyard. The ad has been viewed more than 2,50,000 times on YouTube.

"Of course we understand the severity of the pandemic and spread of COVID-19 but it is clear that this ad is framed in the same spirit." BCF is no stranger to Australia's advertising watchdog, making the list of most complained about ads in both 2016 and 2018.

"Over the years BCF has established a tradition of irreverent campaigns in the spirit of good-natured fun," the spokesman added.

"They will have their detractors and we recognise that," the spokesperson said.

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Australia-China relations

Relations between Australia and China deteriorated last year to their lowest point in decades, experts say.

The advert could see tensions becoming further strained. Australia backed a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in April, which a top Chinese diplomat alleged effectively singled out China.

Since then, Australian imports have been under the spotlight while Chinese students and tourists were warned against travelling to Australia citing fears of racism.

In November, China imposed taxes on Australian wine of up to 212%, saying these were temporary anti-dumping measures to stop subsidised imports of Australian wine.