In the statement, which goes on to explain how fish are more intelligent than apes in some tests, PETA openly appeals to Ubisoft GmbH to commit to removing the feature in the future. Interestingly there is no comment on the player’s ability to shoot a variety of wild animals in different environments, something which has been historically prevalent in the Far Cry series. Ubisoft’s German division, which is based in Dusseldorf, is yet to respond to the statement which opens as follows:
Fans of the series have been quick to criticize the statement, citing unwarranted political correctness as well as hypocrisy based on damning reports into the number of animal deaths that PETA is personally responsible for. This is not the first time PETA has taken aim at video games with accusations of animal cruelty; in fact, the group has a long and storied history of doing so. In the past huge title including Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag, Call of Duty: World at War, and even Mario have fallen victim to the accusations.
It is currently unclear whether Ubisoft will take PETA’s concerns into consideration although if past responses from game developers are anything to go by it may be some time before the animal rights group gets any kind of recognition.
