PETA wants to ban Warhammer 40k miniatures from wearing fur

So what, exactly, is Warhammer 40K? It’s a tabletop miniature wargame set in the 41st millennium, where Mankind’s elite warriors, the Space Marines, preoccupy themselves slaughtering filthy Xenos by the millions. Some of these Space Marines also happen to love wearing furs.

 

Well, your barbaric, fur-wearing ways have not gone unnoticed, filthy Warhammer 40K scum!

 

According to a post on its UK site, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has requested Kevin Rountree – the CEO of Warhammer 40K producer Games Workshop – to “ban ‘fur’ garments from all Warhammer characters.”

 

In Warhammer 40K, players amass armies of miniature figures, a majority of which measure just over an inch tall.

 

 

Now, some of these units are wearing fur. Well, not real fur, of course, but plastic fur, because the figures are made of – you guessed it – plastic.

 

 

Terrible reality

 

But in its post, PETA said, “While we appreciate that they are fictional, draping them in what looks like a replica of a dead animal sends the message that wearing fur is acceptable – when, in fact, it has no more place in 2017 than it would in the year 40,000.

 

“The grimdark, battle-hardened warriors are known for their martial prowess – but wearing the skins of dead animals doesn’t take any skill… Indeed, nothing on the bloody battlefields of Warhammer’s conflict-ravaged universe could match the terrible reality that foxes, minks, rabbits, and other living beings experience at the hands of the fur trade.”

 

Commenters have taken PETA to task over its complaint. One of them said, “Warhammer is a brutal universe and wearing fur fits completely into the law of all the races that do it.” 

 

Others were not as genial. “With animal cruelty happening to real animals by real people your organization has nothing better to do than go after a company that makes little plastic toy soldiers?” remarked Steve.

 

“This is probably the dumbest request PETA has made to date,” said one. “You just have to feel bad for them at this point… ‘It’s okay if your toys frequently go on mass genocide and wear the pelts of other humans and use the skulls and bones of enemies to decorate EVERYTHING, but if they so much look at a space ferret, someone might get the idea that it’s okay in real life.”

 

“I have supported [PETA's] work for many years but this is just plain silly,” said Henry Hyde. “It has no bearing on people’s attitude to the wearing of real fur or the barbaric industry behind it. It makes no more sense to equate the sculpting of fur on miniatures than it does to claim that because we play wargames, we are warmongers.”

 

As of posting time, Games Workshop has yet to issue a statement on PETA’s petition. — DVM, GMA News