‘Woke’ animal charity bosses ridiculed for asking us not to squish spiders with newspapers like The Sun in bizarre advert

ANIMAL charity bosses have been ridiculed for asking us not to smash spiders with newspapers like The Sun.

The RSPCA’s warning is in a new advert as part of a rebrand.

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A promotional video shows animated chickens and cows singing Aretha Franklin’s hit Respect.

Includes examples of abuse such as a man kicking a dog and a malnourished pet.

But the short film also shows a bee being caught by a lawnmower, a car running over a hedgehog and a model of a furry spider being killed by a red-covered tabloid, which appears to be the best newspaper in Britain.

Voiceovers in the clip – for the RSPCA’s For Every Kind campaign – come from Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas, TV naturalist Chris Packham and actor Brian Blessed.

Critics slammed the announcement, with Countryside Alliance boss Tim Bonner saying: “Try as it might, the RSPCA simply can’t avoid getting it wrong.

“People expect it to focus on the welfare of domestic animals and not on promoting ‘respect’ for spiders and snails.

“We all love bees, but when there are so many real cases of animal cruelty, lecturing people about mowing their lawn really isn’t the problem.”

The clip’s inclusion of cows also angered dairy farmers.

Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones described it as a “kick in the teeth” and insisted: “Respecting animals is what 99 per cent of farmers do.”

The charity’s chief executive, Chris Sherwood, insisted the RSPCA is “for every kind of animal, but also for every kind of person”.