Nintendo has recently learned, if you mess with the bull, you get PETA.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently shared their beef with the Japanese video game company in a letter to Nintendo president, Shuntaro Furukawa, over its depiction of the character Cow in Mario Kart World, which released in June on Switch 2.
PETA’s SVP of Marketing Engagement, Joel Bartlett, wrote in part in the letter: “We herd there’s a new star in Mario Kart World: Cow! She is already winning hearts everywhere—including ours. But one detail has us hitting the brakes: The brass ring in Cow’s nose. Would you please show empathy towards bovines and remove the nose ring?”
Noting that in real life, the meat and dairy industries use cows’ nose rings “to exploit, control and even drag animals to their deaths,” they detailed, “These brass rings are crudely stabbed through the sensitive septum of cows and bulls, which can cause lasting pain and discomfort.”
“The brass ring in Cow’s nose glosses over real world violence and cruelty to animals. That’s why we’re asking you to give this beloved bovine a small but meaningful upgrade: Remove the nose ring and let Cow race freely—without any painful reminders of the industries that treat animals like profit-making machines,” the letter concluded. “Every animal is someone. So leave the rings to Sonic and let Cow breathe free!”
On social media, fans of the game took the letter with a grain of salt. “The hell is PETA of all organizations telling them this now?? The Moo Moo cow has always had a nose ring in the Mario Kart universe, and it’s not even a real animal,” one person wrote.
“I have much respect for animals, but I gotta ask. Does Peta have anything better to do with their time than complain about the Mario Kart World cow design?” another posted. “Like maybe get companies to treat their actual livestock better before you ask Nintendo to change a fictional cow.”
In response to a headline, one fan humorously wrote, “BREAKING NEWS: Mario Kart World has called for PETA to remove the stick from their paid to play ARSE!”
The letter is PETA’s latest complaint against Nintendo, previously calling out Animal Crossing: New Horizons for having players to fish and catch bugs on a desert island, in addition to releasing the animal-friendly parody games Mario Kills Tanooki and Pokémon Black and Blue.
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