The latest entry into the Mario Kart franchise added a number of unique characters to play as, including being able to race as one of the cows from the Moo Moo Farm track. PETA has taken offense with a choice regarding Cow in Mario Kart World, however, and has sent a letter to Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa asking the company to make a change to the character. The animal rights group explains that nose rings on cows are cruelty, and they shouldn't be featured as part of the character's design.

We know Mario Kart World is just a game—and that’s exactly why Cow’s nose ring needs to go. Mario Kart is supposed to be a fun escape, not a reminder of the painful tools used on cows in the meat and dairy industries. No one wants to think about animal suffering while zipping around a race track.

PETA has made a number of requests to Nintendo in the past, advocating on how Animal Crossing: New Horizons cultivates abusive behavior towards fish and insects by capturing them and putting them in a museum, and in 2012, even made a parody flash game decrying the violence of the Pokemon series.

Source

 

[DerEineee]

It‘s shocking how many people here are refusing to use their braincells…

It‘s not about saving a virtual cow from pain! Wtf why do people actually believe that this is what it‘s all about? It‘s about pointing attention in the direction of the real issue and also about stopping to normalize cruel behavior towards animals.

Why should we normalize an actual symbol of slavery and genocide in Mario Kart?

The cow driving a kart, getting hit and shocked by several items has no connection to real life issues at all while the nose ring does.

 

[smf]

not once, ever, in the history of peta existing, have they saved even a single animal

they are on the fbi terrorist watch list because they actively steal animals and murder them and have been doing such since the organization was founded.

stop white knighting for animal murderers. it's embarrassing to the animals.

None of what you say is true.

You're an embarrassment to trolls.

Found it in less that two minutes and is not the only example.

American police murder black men. I assume you accept they must be abolished?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd

Milk, beer and even fruit juice are not great. People have an attachment to them because they were groomed.

and this may come as a surprise to some people, but the farmers and butchers do very much care about and care for the animals they're raising as livestock.

Men who attack and murder their partners, care about the woman too.

It's how they show that care that is the issue.

It‘s shocking how many people here are refusing to use their braincells…

The far right trolls are just bored now that their daddy has been caught up in the epstein files.

 

[thekarter104]

Pfff ofcourse stupid PETA. Can't believe they even tried to sue Animal Crossing on this. It's so much fun to donate bugs and fish to the museum and I hope a new Animal Crossing does the same.

This time it's PETA ruining games for us. If the new Animal Crossing will not feature museum donating, then it's no fun at all...

 

[omega59]

PETA the celebrity ran organization who's system is corrupt? they still getting support? wtf.

 

[KingVamp]

Took them over 2 months, lol. They used to be more current with their outrage-bait

The cows have looked that way since MK 64, so they are pretty late.

 

[titan_tim]

Worried about a cow with a nose ring instead of having a cow drive a vehicle for our pleasure? Or Cows being on the track which you can run into? They only care now because the cow character became a bit of a meme, so they try to capitalize on the attention.

 

[wsh1994]

Pfff ofcourse stupid PETA. Can't believe they even tried to sue Animal Crossing on this. It's so much fun to donate bugs and fish to the museum and I hope a new Animal Crossing does the same.

This time it's PETA ruining games for us. If the new Animal Crossing will not feature museum donating, then it's no fun at all...

Agree, the bug catchingn and fishing aspect is like... 80% of the game, without that they would have to reinvent the franchise.

This is just another case of "look at me having the moral high ground! give me attention and dont forget to donate to my cause!" And has nothing to do wiht acutally making any difference in the world whatsoever. But hey, what else can we expect from PETA?

Post automatically merged: Aug 18, 2025

Worried about a cow with a nose ring instead of having a cow drive a vehicle for our pleasure? Or Cows being on the track which you can run into? They only care now because the cow character became a bit of a meme, so they try to capitalize on the attention.

don't get them started... they will probably come up with some bullshit about cow emancipation or something

 

[ZeroFX]

Hahahah, I just eat a nice steak.

 

[NitroShell]

PETA, the organization that kills more animals than it saves. No one playing MKW would think of animal cruelty because of a nose ring. I bet a lot of people wouldn't even have noticed it if not for this letter

How did they not get mad at this?

 

[Ondrashek06]

So instead of picking on way worse virtual things, like a literal genocide of a fish species happening in Splatoon, they pick on a fucking nose ring.

Why do we even give Peta attention?

 

[ZeroT21]

So instead of picking on way worse virtual things, like a literal genocide of a fish species happening in Splatoon, they pick on a fucking nose ring.

Why do we even give Peta attention?

PETA just wants to justify their relevance and dictate what's morally correct for us, and we should be grateful for it

 

[MPRTwice]

PETA, I command you to allow dogs to eat meat; they starve to death slowly on plant-only diets. Perhaps you can start animal safety there first, given that you haven't started at all yet.

 

[raxadian]

Why do we even give Peta attention?

Good point, let's talk about how online play in World kinda sucks instead.

 

[Noctosphere]

Dear PETA,

To answer your complain, this is not a cow. Stop misgendering our characters like the freaking white priviliged biggot that you are. This is a female minotaur and the ring in its nose is a cultural symbol from their tribe. Do you really want us to remove it? That's very racist from you.
Unless you want us to sue you for you openly-biggoted behaviour, I suggest that you appologize publicly, right now.
You have 48 hours to do so before we take legal action.

With the outmost respect, screw you

-N

 

[a_username_that_is_cool]

PETA is actually, owned, by Peter, this is because PETA stands for Peter's Exhausting Terrible Association

 

[wsh1994]

Dear PETA,

To answer your complain, this is not a cow. Stop misgendering our characters like the freaking white priviliged biggot that you are. This is a female minotaur and the ring in its nose is a cultural symbol from their tribe. Do you really want us to remove it? That's very racist from you.
Unless you want us to sue you for you openly-biggoted behaviour, I suggest that you appologize publicly, right now.
You have 48 hours to do so before we take legal action.

With the outmost respect, screw you

-N

fr though, someone should send dare nintendos lawysers to send this to them

 

[Ferris1000]

I totally agree, they should remove the nose ring...and while we're at it, let's stop Mario from stomping Goombas. It's 2025, violence against sentient mushroom creatures is no longer acceptable. Time to rebrand him as a plant-based plumber who gently negotiates with Bowser over tofu diplomacy. Let’s butcher Nintendo IPs just like they did with Palworld, but ethically, of course.

 

[Trobador]

PETA is an horrific organization and can go fuck themselves. But while this is clearly them doing PR for their own benefit, I don't actually dislike the idea. The answer to the question of whether Nintendo is actively condoning animal cruelty by having a nose ring on a cow in their children's video game because they hate bovines and want them to suffer more is very clearly no, but a better question to ask that doesn't require putting Nintendo on the chopping block for bullshit is, should it really have a nose ring?

Nose rings are pretty fucked up. There's a lot of fucked up unnecessary mutilation we do casually to animals because it's convenient to us (and you can, and SHOULD, recognize that regardless on your thoughts on eating meat!) and it's fairly agreeable that we should work towards changing that as a species. The Mario cow has a nose ring for the sole reason that the chara-designer wanted to add a detail to its nose. It doesn't say anything about the cow's situation or history, which it does not have, or anything pertinent about the world it lives in. You're not neutering any part of the artistic vision by omitting it, so... why have it at all? Not having it would contribute to 'denormalizing' nose rings and wouldn't hurt the cuteness of the cow one bit. I would be in favour. I'd rather have a kid find it weird to see a cow with a ring on its nose than one without.

It doesn't matter much either way. But I think it'd be better.

 

[LightyKD]

Fuck PETA!

*Continues to eat my bacon cheeseburger*

 

[KingVamp]

You're not neutering any part of the artistic vision by omitting it, so... why have it at all? Not having it would contribute to 'denormalizing' nose rings and wouldn't hurt the cuteness of the cow one bit. I would be in favour. I'd rather have a kid find it weird to see a cow with a ring on its nose than one without.

The nose ring is and was part of the artistic vision. So, yes, you would be both neutering and censoring.

We should remove the cows altogether. I don't want cows riding karts and cannibalism to be normalized for kids. /s