One of the highlights of Nintendo's new game Super Mario 3D Land is the ability to don the Tanooki suit that players loved in Super Mario Bros. 3. Mario dresses up like a racoon, can flutter around the world, turn into a statue, and tail whip the heck out of enemies. Good, harmless fun, right?
Wrong, according to PETA. Apparently they're not happy that Mario is wearing a fur suit of the tanuki, a racoon-dog that's popular in Japanese culture. Because of their fur coats, PETA says it helps promote the animal-skinning industry.
They didn't just come out with a simple statement about this. They launched a "Mario Kills Tanooki" campaign and created a Flash game where you chase down Mario to get your fur back. I won't link the game here, because it's just that bad.
This isn't the first time PETA's gone after video games about their complaints of animal abuse. They've also complained about stabbing a rat in Battlefield 3.
Back to Mario, this has to top the list of ridiculous efforts by PETA to spread their message about animal mistreatment. Are they afraid that all the children that play this game will all of a sudden go out and skin every racoon they see? Ridiculous. All Mario does in the game is grab a leaf and he's magically in the suit. Oh, yeah, the tanuki is also known for its shape-shifting abilities, too, which is what Nintendo was likely going for.
But after all these years of Mario games, why would PETA attack the Nintendo icon now? All those poor Koopa Troopas (you know, turtles) have suffered years of abuse from being hopped on and kicked around. Those poor squid-like Bloopers and other fish Mario loves to attack in the games. And don't get me started on Yoshi, who eats everything in sight to help out Mario. Disgusting.
Maybe PETA should quit worrying about the virtual world and focus on the real-world issues of animal cruelty. But bringing up "controversies" like these, people will just continue to laugh...and laugh...and laugh some more at them.

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