PETA is now also against Mario?

Once in a while, I stumble across a story so remarkably absurd that I question whether or not I’m awake. Today, I saw such a story. 

Forbes blogger David M. Ewalt wrote about how the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized Nintendo and the Mario series for animal cruelty. It all stems from an item you can find in several Mario games called the Tanooki Suit. This is a costume of a raccoon-like animal that gives Mario limited flying abilities.

So PETA, an organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of real animals, is ticked off that a fake video game character is wearing fake video game fur. No animals were harmed in the making of the Tanooki Suit. These are all just pixels on a screen. But PETA says that the image of Mario wearing fur promotes the idea of wearing fur in general.

The group has created its own game in which a mutilated animal is chasing down a Mario-like character who is wearing a bloody fur. According to Ewalt, the game isn’t worth anyone’s time. In my mind, these shock tactics really just invite more ridicule and scorn from people who aren’t already members of PETA. And how many kids playing Mario actually decide to wear fur based on the game? This smacks of opportunism.

That’s really my big problem with PETA in general — based on media coverage, the group seems to cater to its own members and doesn’t really do much to actually help animals. Rather than reaching out to the overall community in a way that might win over support, the organization seems committed to creating outrageous publicity stunts. I don’t really see how that’s helping the animals the organization claims to cherish.

This story originally posted on http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2011/11/14/nintendos-mario-in-petas-crosshairs/.  Original story was written by Jonathan Strickland