As you might imagine, PETA (the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals one, not Peta Wilson) aren’t exactly over the moon about Nintendo transforming milking a cow into a Switch minigame. Not being happy about that sort of thing is their gig. On Thursday, the organization voiced their displeasure with the game and a tied-in promotional stunt that’s on the horizon.
As reported by Polygon, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk wrote a letter to the video game giant slamming them for both the 1-2 Switch activity and the decision to accept the Billings Farm & Museum of Woodstock, Vermont’s challenge to come do some IRL milking. It’s a choice that has marketing savvy, but also comes with criticism from PETA for treating milking a (video game) cow as entertainment.
“Our staffers and activists have recently played the cow-milking minigame for Nintendo Switch and realized you’ve taken all the cruelty out of milking,” writes Newkirk. “We have more than 35 years of experience investigating dairy farms where cows are exploited for their milk, and it is NEVER that pleasant for these animals. Can we have some realism here, please?”
PETA’s specific realism request: Take the fun out of Nintendo milking, replace it with a gritty depiction of animal abuse.
“We’d be happy to provide you with video footage of the filthy conditions that cows endure on farms for you to include in your game,” says Newkirk. “If you think that the gruesome nature of this would be too upsetting, we suggest that instead of sugarcoating the subject, Nintendo Switch to simulating activities in which no animals suffer.”
We expect the eventual letter about Donkey Kong will pull fewer punches.
(Via Polygon)