The Importance of Prioritising Animal Welfare When Photographing Pets for Advertising

When working with animals, there are two main organisations whose guidelines I follow. Firstly is the RSPCA’s Guidelines for the Welfare of Performing Animals, which includes information relating directly to how you should handle and interact with animals on any commercial set (including TV/Film productions, as well as using dogs for advertising and marketing campaigns.) The second set of guidelines are from the British Veterinary Association’s Pets in Advertising: A Social Concern, which is focussed more on pets’ five welfare needs and how that translates into responsible image interpretation and use in advertising.