Recently PETA issued a holiday press release attacking the iconic Nintendo mascot Mario for wearing a Tanooki (a raccoon like dog) suit. In his latest adventure, the Nintendo’s Super Mario can forgo his standard iconic cop suit and increase his powers by dressing to appear more like a raccoon. The games are scheduled to be on store shelves in time to become Christmas presents for kids, and this has PETA growling.
“Tanooki may be just a “suit” in Mario games, but by wearing the skin of an animal, Mario is sending the message that it’s OK to wear fur,” PETA snarls.
The raccoon-like suit has actually been a hidden part of the Mario wardrobe since 1988, but apparently it just came to the attention of someone over at the PETA headquarters. And the animal rights group complains that Mario teaches kids a bad lesson about fur and animal cruelty issues.
Actually, Mario teaches kids to be creative and to improve their reasoning and computer skills. Go Mario!
