Animal-rights advocacy group PETA wants Nintendo to remove the brass nose ring from Cow, the joyful anthropomorphic vehicle-driving character in recently released top-selling game “Mario Kart World.” Yes, really.
PETA this week launched a campaign to urge the Japanese game maker to redesign the Cow character “without the nose ring — a painful reminder of the cruelty cows endure in the meat and dairy industries.”
“The brass ring in Cow’s nose glosses over real-world violence and cruelty to animals. That’s why we’re asking you to give this beloved bovine a small but meaningful upgrade: Remove the nose ring and let Cow race freely — without any painful reminders of the industries that treat animals like profit-making machines,” Joel Bartlett, PETA’s SVP of marketing engagement, wrote in a letter addressed to Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, which the group posted on its website. He added, “leave the rings to Sonic and let Cow breathe free!”
Reps for Nintendo of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Mario Kart World” was released June 5, 2025, as a launch game for the Nintendo Switch 2. As of June 30, the company had sold 5.63 million copies, according to Nintendo, making it the best-selling title for the new console. In the game, 24 players compete against each other to see who can zoom through open-world racetracks the fastest.
Online commenters have pointed out that it’s possible — in the context of the “Mario Kart World” universe — that Cow chose to get the nose ring herself. “How do they know the cow didn’t go to a body piercing place to get it? The damn thing knows how to drive so it’s not completely… ordinary,” an X user posted Friday about the issue.
According to PETA, in a press release about Cow’s nose ring that said “It’s-a mean!”, the cattle industry uses nose rings as a tool of torment, not a fashion accessory: “Nose rings are used by the meat and dairy industries to exploit, control and even drag animals to their deaths. These brass rings are crudely stabbed through the sensitive septum of cows and bulls, which can cause lasting pain and discomfort.”
It’s not the first time PETA has targeted Nintendo. For example, the advocacy group in 2020 criticized the game giant’s “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” for “encouraging abusive behavior toward fish and insects, where players can tear wildlife out of their homes and display them in cramped cases in a museum.”
And in 2017, PETA said Nintendo had “sold its soul” by partnering with McDonald’s to include “Super Mario” toys in Happy Meals. “Nintendo should stay in the business of selling creative video games, not cruel and unhealthy chicken nuggets,” the group said at the time.
