PETA: 'Cooking Mama kills animals'

Animal rights charity PETA is well known for its controversial, shock campaigning tactics.

Its founder Ingrid Newkirk leads the way and has requested in her will that her skin is turned into wallets and her flesh into 'Newkirk Nuggets' which are then grilled on a barbecue. The New York arm famously lobbed a dead raccoon on to the table of pro-fur Vogue editor Anna Wintour when she was dining out at the Four Seasons.

Who would have thought the charity would have cause to condemn the video game industry though? Only back in 2006, they were awarding Nintendo's Nintendogs one of their 'Proggy Awards' for best animal-friendly video game.

But Cooking Mama has come under fire for the cheerful way she chops up bits of dead animal and PETA has decided to use the game to highlight its anti-broiler turkey message this Christmas by creating an unofficial flash version of it on its website (as picked up by The Guardian Games Blog).

"She looks innocent enough – a happy woman who has a twinkle in her eye and loves to cook – but if you take just a minute to think about what happens to the animals who are killed for Mama's meals, a fun cooking game no longer seems quite so innocent..." is the message.

The game is actually quite good, made up of mini-games that have you plucking your turkey, slopping its insides into a bowl and chopping off its head. All under the instruction of a slightly psychotic looking Mama.

Check it out and - you never know - you might even be inspired to replace the bird with a Quorn fillet this Christmas.