 Here we go again. Just moments after finishing our last video on the effects of protests within Animal Crossing, we discovered that Twitter was ablaze with yet another in-game protest. This time around, protesters from PETA stormed the museum in one of their towns, bothering Blathers the Owl in the name of animal rights. Amid shouts of empty the tanks, PETA have decreed that Blathers is cancelled because he, quote, encourages villagers to take fish out of their natural habitats so he can trap them in tiny tanks. This news is enough to make anyone ask, why? Of all the possible targets for an animal rights campaign, why is PETA so opposed to a fictional owl inside a non-violent video game? The people for the ethical treatment of animals have been attempting to gain extra attention with similar stunts for years. The organisation has a particular axe to grind against Nintendo. In the early 2010s, PETA released a series of parody flash games designed to highlight animal rights issues within Nintendo's creations. According to these games, Mario is accused of being complicit in the fur trade when he dresses as a tanooki, while a Pokemon parody poked fun at trainers capturing monsters and forcing them to battle. We'll spare you the specific details, but if you want to see them for yourself, Nintendo has not seen fit to pursue legal action against PETA, so they're still available to play online. Perhaps emboldened by their success with these games, PETA has since turned their attention to Animal Crossing New Horizons, a game that the activism group argues is simply not vegan-friendly. According to PETA's Vegan Guide to Animal Crossing New Horizons, is fishing an animal crossing vegan? This is a biggie. Fishing isn't vegan, you shouldn't fish in real life, so you shouldn't do so in the game either. The guide goes on to yet again blame Blather's Museum, calling it, quote, not only cruel, but also bad for the environment. The guide also states that catching bugs in Animal Crossing isn't vegan. It claims, Blather's would like to build a museum of fishing insects on your island. Don't let him do it. Anyone who thinks that Blather's actually wants your insect donations should pay more attention to the game, but that's beside the point. Here's another interesting line from the guide. If you get instructions to build a doghouse, don't! Apparently PETA also takes issue with you building a virtual doghouse, whether or not you'll actually keep a dog in the house. The guide also tells you not to pick up clams, and praises the games, quote, surprising awareness when it tells you that hermit crabs want to be left alone. Instead, the guide suggests that you eat lots of fruit, plant flowers, wear pleather, and put up a bulletin forbidding visitors from fishing or catching bugs. It also suggests that yes, you could, quote, raid a friend's island to protest their museum for keeping fish captive. It's worth remembering that in order to build a museum in New Horizons, the player has to catch five fish or bugs. This means that somebody bought Animal Crossing and spent hours fishing, only so that they could protest against other people fishing. The guide also speculates about whether or not Isabelle, the carnivorous dog, is a vegan. It says, she seems to love tofu. Does this mean she's vegan? We can't confirm that, but it would make sense. So, really, what's the point here? What exactly is PETA trying to achieve by protesting inside Animal Crossing? And why does the activism group seem so desperate to attack Nintendo games instead of going after real-world cases of animal cruelty? Well, discerning their motives isn't always easy, but there is one major benefit to campaigning against Nintendo. It brings attention to their cause. We can't say that this doesn't work. After all, we're talking about PETA right now when we wouldn't have otherwise. Well played, PETA. Well played. Now, please leave Blathers alone. He doesn't deserve this.