Pit bulls have gotten a bad rap over the years and are too often associated with dog fights and violence, though that has significantly more to do with horrible owners than the rather pleasant pit bulls they mistreat. Somehow this escaped the people at McDonald’s, who thought that these dogs would be a good way to epitomize the idea of “danger.”

In a radio ad for the Golden Arches for its new McBites chicken thingies, McDonald’s states, “Trying a new menu item at McDonald’s isn’t risky. You know what’s risky? Petting a stray pit bull.”

This has not gone over well with dog lovers, who have accused McDonald’s of dredging up an inaccurate stereotype about pit bulls just to sell fast food.

After a huge outcry on the internet, including a Facebook page dedicated to pushing for a boycott on McDonald’s over the ad, the company finally issued an apology over the weekend.

“We apologize for running a local ad insensitive in its mention of pit bulls,” reads a statement from the company’s official Twitter account. “We didn’t mean to offend anyone and the ad is being pulled.”

Below is an audio recording of the ad, though the included image shows Chicken McNuggets and not McBites, though some would say that chowing down on either of those would be worse for you than petting a pit bull.

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