Toy pigs on children’s farm sets recently became the latest “no-no” fodder for politically correct company execs who for a short time were turning up their noses at the idea of offending the country’s Muslim population.
According to an article published in Britain’s Sun newspaper, the Early Learning Centre’s (ELC) HappyLand Goosefeather Farm had removed the toy pig from its collection.
The sty remained, and so did the button which creates the “oink” sound – but parents were advised that if they wanted to include a pig in their poke, they need to order it from the company’s website.
A mother named Caroline had apparently purchased the set for her daughter’s first birthday, only to discover that although the farm had a cow, sheep, chicken, horse and dog, but “no piggy.” After emailing the company, she received a response that “makes my blood boil,” the mother told The Sun.
ELC reportedly told the mother, ‘Previously the pig was part of the Goosefeather farm, however due to customer feedback and religious reasons this is no longer part of the farm.’”
Commented the angry mother: “This is political correctness gone loopy.”
A spokeswoman for the company responded that “ELC is a truly global brand, which means we need to be aware of the full range of customer expectations and cultural differences. The decision to remove the pig from our Goosefeather Farm set was taken in reaction to customer feedback in some parts of the world."
However, said the spokeswoman, the company quickly realized it had made a mistake that could affect its bottom line.
“We recognize that pigs are familiar farm animals, especially for our UK customers. Taking on board all the customer feedback, we have taken the decision to reinstate the pig and to no longer sell the set in those international markets where it might create an issue,” the spokeswoman said. Parents who purchased sets with missing pigs and who would like one are able to order a pig free of charge via the website, she added.