A statement has been issued by a German branch of PETA; the animal rights activism group. The statement, which takes aim at Ubisoft’s latest open-world game, condemns a rather unexpected aspect of the title; Far Cry 5’s fishing.
PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have taken issue with video games multiple times in the past. Indeed, the organisation has seemed to believe for some time that the video game industry promotes a pro-animal cruelty agenda. The group has claimed that the Pokemon series promotes animal abuse and that the Super Mario games promote the fur trade. They once produced a parody of Nintendo’s Cooking Mama to highlight the production of processed meats.
Now, the German wing of the activist group has published an open condemnation of Far Cry 5. One might expect them to criticise violence towards animals in the game; hunting, the appearance of animal companions who engage in combat, etc. But no, rather, the group has taken issue with the fact that Far Cry 5 allows players to go fishing.
The statement cites a number of studies which have found that fish display a certain level of intelligence. It also uses anecdotal statements from Paul McCartney and Albert Schweitzer, about their own distaste for fishing. Redditors have already started criticizing the group for their absurdist outcry, given that the group has been responsible for tens of thousands of animal deaths through euthanasia.
PETA has attacked Ubisoft before, for including whaling in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. This criticism, however, seems unlikely to do much to change public perception. Fishing is most decidedly not an activity that the general public condemns. Given that Far Cry 5 was the best-selling game of March this year on both Xbox One and PS4, it seems most gamers were not put off by the blatant infliction of an “agonizing death struggle” (their words) on Hope County’s resident fish.
Given PETA’s track record of near-absurd attacks on the video game industry, it seems odd that they should draw the line merely at fishing. Perhaps players who have set out to track down Bigfoot in the game should be wary of drawing the group’s ire as well.