Mario Kills Tanooki, PETA Campaign Against Wearing Fur

Update: Nintendo has responded to PETA's claims that Mario is an animal killer and wears their fur as suits. A Nintendo representative spoke to Euorgamer and had the following to say:

"Mario often takes the appearance of certain animals and objects in his games.

"These have included a frog, a penguin, a balloon and even a metallic version of himself. These lighthearted and whimsical transformations give Mario different abilities and make his games fun to play.

"The different forms that Mario takes make no statement beyond the games themselves."

Original Story: Animal rights group, PETA, have started a new campaign up and this time it's aimed at Nintendo's famous plumber, Mario. His latest game, Super Mario 3D Land features the return of the Tanooki Suit - clothing that gives Mario the ability to fly. Unfortunately, it seems old Mario has skinned a poor raccoon to get the suit... or at least PETA's new campaign suggests so (sort of).

The group believe that Mario's in-game suit influences the wearing of fur in real life and by having Mario wear it, it's sending out a message that it's okay to do so. They even made a game to highlight the "issue", where you play as a skinless raccoon. Your job is to get your skin back from a flying Mario, whilst avoiding gaps.

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