PETA Slams Tanooki Mario. They Were Just Joking. No, Really.

I'm late hearing about this but I just had to make a post when I head.

You've no doubt heard of PETA. Short for People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. Well in another pathetic "notice me" attempt they went after the recently released Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS. The game sees the return of the much loved Tanooki Suit, introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3. A Tanooki Suit allows Mario to fly, turn into a statue and on top of those nifty features, he looks cute as a button. But PETA saw things differently. Straight from the horse's mouth:

When on a mission to rescue the princess, Mario has been known to use any means necessary to defeat his enemy — even wearing the skin of a raccoon dog to give him special powers.

Tanooki may be just a "suit" in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur. By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur.

Say what? Mario doesn't even kill to get his Tanooki Suits! In Super Mario 3D Land, he gets them from touching a leaf. No killing or skinning involved. We haven't heard jack from them about all the Koopa Troopas, Bloopers, Cheep-Cheeps and tons of another animal life Mario has been disposing of for almost 30 years now. And besides that, it's a game, an innocent game for people of all ages.

Along with the above, stupid claim was a flash game titled Mario Kills Tanooki. It pretty much strips away all the good stuff about the Super Mario series and turns it into mindless, blood-filled carnage. The reaction to said game turned out about as well as you would expect. When the enourmous back lash hit, here's what PETA had to say.

Mario fans: Relax! PETA's game was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, a fun way to call attention to a serious issue, that raccoon dogs are skinned alive for their fur. We wish real-life tanukis could fly or swat enemies away with their tails and escape from those who profit from their skins. You can help them by never buying real fur.

Seriously, PETA, just stop talking.