PETA barks, no one jumps
A recent addition to the popular Zynga game Mafia Wars has caused PETA no end of concern. The popular social game that involves committing acts of violence for players to create their criminal empires is now including animals as a new combat item class for use in fights and robbing. Though all animals currently in the game will be converted into this new combat class, Zynga highlights that they are releasing two Limited Edition animals on the Marketplace: an African Lion and Pit Bull.
And here is where PETA is having their problem. From their blog, a representative of PETA states:
Sure, it’s just a game, but perpetuating the image of pit bulls as fighting machines is reckless and wrong. It is particularly troubling in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a law banning the distribution of videos glorifying such cruelty to animals. Pit bulls already face a public relations battle and are the most abused breed of dog. PETA’s fieldworkers see pit bulls in horrific conditions every day. They are frequently kept chained or penned, they are taunted and trained to be aggressive, and they are beaten and starved—sometimes to death.
No mention is made of the African lion or any other animals, though in their plea for members to contact Zynga, they do ask “…to leave animals out of Mafia Wars.” A perusal of the comments made on the PETA site show an interesting focus on the need to boycott the game because “…dogs are living creatures and should be treated as such and not as part of arsenal.” We wonder when human beings stopped being living creatures…or perhaps it is okay with this particular commenter that they be treated as part of “an arsenal”.
Regardless, the real question revolves around whether depictions of dog fighting, or animal fighting in general, would encourage such activities in the real world. And, frankly, we just don’t see a casual player engaging in an afternoon of Mafia Wars suddenly realizing, upon using the Pit Bull in a fight, that, wow, they could do this for real and how much fun it might be to watch two living creatures tear their guts out and bleed on the floor.
(Via GamePolitics)
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