Leads to crime against dogs
Barking mad animal rights groups are calling for a
boycott of the online game Mafia wars over a scene that involves a dog
fight. PETA claims that the game encourages crime because kids
will think that it is ok to arrange dog fights. Never mind that the
game is set in a world where it is OK
to gun down humans to take criminal control of a town. Atrocities
against our four-footed friends
are apparently one crime too many.
In a letter to Mark Pincus, boss of Mafia Wars developer
Zynga, PETA wrote, "Portraying dogs and other animals as nothing more than
living weapons encourages people to abuse animals in real life."
According to PETA, dogs belonging to "bully
breeds" are sometimes physically abused and starved by their owners, and
punished for losing in illegal dogfights or not being aggressive enough.
"The people who acquire them do so because they have been taught that
having one of these dogs is 'cool' and 'tough', but they have no idea about the
care and feelings of the animal they have enslaved," the organisation
said.
"Will you please reconsider perpetuating the image
of pit bulls and other animals as fighting machines in Mafia Wars and decide
against sending a dangerous message that it's somehow acceptable to force
animals to fight, keep them chained, and deny them everything that is natural
and important to them?"
Zynga which makes the game has yet to respond. (Perhaps Zynga chose not to negotiate with terrorists. sub.ed.)