Animal rights organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has turned its vengeance away from the fashion industry and vast Japanese whaling fleets and honed its ire on the videogame industry. In particular, it's unhappy with that paragon of domestic virtue, Cooking Mama.
 
In a bid to raise awareness over the conditions in which many farm animals are kept and treated during slaughter, the group has launched its own Flash version of the game, Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, where Mama's wholesome twinkle-in-the-eye is replaced by a malevolent, icy gleam. Players are first invited to prepare a sad-looking turkey by plucking it, stuffing it and cooking it. To emphasise the plight of the poor birds, each mini-game is followed by facts and videos describing the appalling condition in which livestock is sometimes kept (you can play the game here - http://www.peta.org/cooking-mama/index.asp?c=pcmgb08). It then invites you to contact Majesco, the DS title's North American publisher, to let them know that you'd like to see Mama be a bit more ethical in her sourcing of ingredients and perhaps throw a few vegetarian recipes into her culinary repertoire. "If you take just a minute to think about what happens to the animals who are killed for Mama's meals, a fun cooking game no longer seems quite so innocent," says a statement from PETA.
 
While animal cruelty is obviously wrong and, to an extent, the media has a responsibility to make people aware of the world's ills, targeting a seemingly harmless rhythm-action game is pushing things a little far. Next thing you know, Greenpeace will be on at Mario for using that dirty smelly little Kart of his and we'll be encouraged to petition Nintendo to show the plumber filling his car with biodiesel, or walking if the race is less than a mile. There's nothing wrong with raising awareness of harm to animals, but stunts like this cheapen the message, and the messenger, and lessen the impact that a serious, properly-targeted campaign would have.