Pity the Japanese. Not only are their meals of deliciously 'scientific' whale meat spoiled by do-gooders jumping in front of their harpoons, now they can't even relax with a game of Cooking Mama without upsetting campaigners.
Animal rights group PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) has objected to Mama whipping up flesh-based virtual delights such as ginger pork and octopus dumplings.
The pressure group is calling for a meat-free version of the game for junior veggies and, to drive its point home, has created its own - strictly unauthorised - Flash game called Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals.
Fowl jokes
In this fantastically kitsch Thanksgiving spectacular, you pluck a dazed-looking turkey and fish around in its cavities for gore-splattered giblets.
It's well worth playing - here at www.peta.org/cooking-mama - if only to see a steely-eyed Mama wielding a blood-spattered butcher's knife.
Mama took a break from clubbing baby seals and biting the heads from live gerbils to issue a strongly worded, if slightly bonkers, official rebuttal: "I would never put rat in my ratatouille. Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences."
Mama's bosses at Majesco Entertainment note that her latest game includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes and that, while Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals.
Next up: Greenpeace berates Mario for not fuelling his kart with biodiesel and the Health and Safety Executive shuts down Guitar Hero for breaking virtual decibel level limits.
