Bosses at Highland Spring have been left red-faced by the humble red squirrel.
The company, which has a bottling factory in Blackford, has run into hot water with a conservation group after using a grey squirrel in its new television advert.
Set in the Ochil Hills and voiced by Hollywood actress and Boardwalk Empire star Kelly Macdonald, the ad features a cast of ”native” creatures including a rabbit, deer, ladybird, owl and mole.
But Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) say they were appalled when a grey squirrel, which originates from north America, appeared on screen.
Ken Neil from the organisation said: ”Considering they are a Scottish company, showing Scottish wildlife and based in Perthsire in red squirrel central, I cannot understand what they were thinking. It’s the kind of oversight that defies belief.”
Critics have even set up a group on Facebook urging the company to change the advert.
Responding to the criticism, Highland Spring say they were keen to use a red squirrel but could not find one.
A spokesman added: ”We are privileged to have so many beautiful creatures on Highland Spring’s land. We appreciate, quite rightly, that there are strong views on the conservation of red squirrels and our ad was certainly not intended to cause offence.
”We wanted to create a cheerful commercial which was an accurate picture of life on our organic land, featuring animals which live there. The filming required us to use trained animals and we took advice from experienced handlers on the selection of all creatures featured in the advert.
”While both red and grey squirrels can be found on our protected catchment, endangered red squirrels are not readily available for use in filming although we tried hard to find one.
”We were advised therefore to work with the more common grey squirrel and took the decision to do so given that they are also resident on our land.”
Scotland’s red squirrels are one of the most threatened species in the country largely due to the introduction of the grey squirrel. Greys were brought by people who thought they would make an attractive addition to our parks.
Unfortunately, grey squirrels love our countryside and survive well, out-competing the smaller red squirrel across much of its range. Grey squirrels also brought disease. Over generations, they have become immune to many of their viruses and diseases but our red squirrels are not. The biggest problem is squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to reds.
Scottish Natural Heritage warns that without urgent help the red squirrel could become extinct in Scotland before the century ends.