Ya, it was blocked. However, no biggie since you can still get around using IWT on a interactable battle pet. Alterac Brew Pup and Soul-Trader both work in Ashran as far as I know. If you only wish to run Ashran, the Soul-Trader is probably the cheaper one to get, as they can be found on the AH. However, currently the Soul-Trader does not work in BGs, so it has a significant limitation.