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Animal rights organization PETA has called on Ubisoft to remove cockfighting from Far Cry 6, saying that its inclusion "glorifies cruelty".
The minigame sees players control a chicken, playing out the real blood sport of cockfighting in a short fighting game. While cockfighting is legal in Far Cry 6's country of inspiration, Cuba, critics say the cruel sport is not depicted accurately, as no chicken is shown to die or become seriously injured, and therefore undermines its impact on the animals.
Now, it has attracted the attention of the controversial animal rights group, PETA. In a statement seen by TheGamer, PETA says that Ubisoft should remove the minigame from Far Cry 6 altogether.
"Turning a horrific blood sport like cockfighting into a Mortal Kombat–style video game match is a far cry from real innovation, as today’s society is strongly opposed to forcing animals to fight to the death", said PETA Latino senior manager Alicia Aguayo in the statement. "Roosters used in cockfights are fitted with sharp spurs that tear through flesh and bone, causing agonizing and fatal injuries. PETA Latino urges Ubisoft to replace this reprehensible minigame with one that doesn’t glorify cruelty."
Of course, PETA has also come under fire in the past itself. While most of the criticism pertains to the delivery of its message - many in the gaming community will remember the infamous "Pokemon Black and Blue" campaign - more serious controversies surround the organization's own alleged animal abuses. In 2019, Newsweek reported that of the 2,421 dogs and cats it received, 1,578 were euthanized. Similarly, in 2017 PETA paid the family of a 9-year old girl $49,000, after the charity took her pet dog from her home, euthanizing her on the same day. PETA referred to the incident as an "unfortunate mistake". PETA has defended its overall euthanization figures, however, saying that this is inevitable due to its policy to never turn away animals.
PETA is no stranger to criticising content in video games. The aforementioned Pokemon Black and Blue is a browser developed by the charity, calling out Nintendo for "paint[ing] rosy pictures of things that are actually horrible", comparing the treatment of Pokemon in the games to animals used for entertainment, such as elephants in circuses. The group has also targeted the Cooking Mama games in the past for depicting the cooking of meat.