PETA, oh PETA, how ever do you continue to find funding when you spend it on such convoluted ideas?

The latest media attention grab from the animal-loving folks comes in the form of a video game. PETA launched a Pokemon-inspired game where the creatures rebel against their loathsome masters due to the anger from mistreatment from imprisonment in Pokeballs.

The opening of the game offers the message that instead of learning compassion, children learned about dominance by catching Pokemon; that the children later turned to bullying each other.

Apparently, “generations of children were growing up believing that Pokemon exist for no other reason than to be used and abused by humans,” according to the game’s opening.

Hold on a tick. Pokemon exist? And here I thought they were fictional characters.

The trainers and other humans are portrayed as drunken or drugged disheveled maniacs doused in blood and wielding a variety of weapons. When you see them, you have no choice but to battle them with signature Poke-attacks or protest-esque attacks that are giggle-worthy. After a trainer is defeated, a new Poke-friend is freed from enslavement to join Pikachu in the revolution.

I have to give it to PETA, as this is wonderful marketing. It is an inane video game that thousands of folks that either do not know much about PETA or that generally make fun of PETA will likely play at some point to pass the time.

The actual message of animal liberation is not very strong given the comical game play aspects, but the extra exposure for PETA to those that grew up with Pokemon might negate some of the poor public relations moves of late.

The recent use of D-list celebrity Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino clutching a cat and advising spaying or neutering — only Bob Barker ever delivered that advice well — is such a joke it is hardly funny. 

Luckily the sort-of sexy run of nude celebrities advocating veganism/vegetarianism, safe sex for animals or not to support real fur are still bouncing about the net to grab attention; though the effectiveness in regard to the message of the ads is questionable.

This video game tactic though has to be somewhat effective, as PETA has decried video game animal injury multiple times in the past. “Super Mario Bros.” came under fire for the Tanooki suit in a fur-free messaged spoof game.

And there was an anti seal-clubbing — no, not the punctuation meme of “Stop clubbing, baby seals” — event inspired by the practices of gamers in “World of Warcraft” to bash seals for fun. For a limited time, WoWers could do battle with a team of four Horde seal killers.

PETA’s messages appear well-intentioned at the outset, because, well, who doesn’t think sad dogs and cats and other abused or seemingly helpless animals are not adorable. But underneath the cuddly and loving animal rights messages comes some seriously convoluted practices.

“Penn & Teller: Bullshit!” does a far better job than I could telling it how it is concerning PETA — look for the episode on YouTube. But the overall message is that PETA is as flawed as any other interest group. Their animal-friendly messages often go so far as to put animal life above human life.

Sorry folks, but creatures eat other creatures, so I have no problem with animals being “imprisoned” and then “murdered” so I can eat them. There should be no gleeful psychotic torture of the animals as they are slaughtered, but deviant antics aside, somebody has got to do the killing. And we are — well most people, arguably — higher on the evolutionary food chain.

Animal skins are not terribly fashionable to me, but I do like my leather coats. And medical testing on animals is necessary unless it somehow becomes legal to do such tests on people. I mean, the Nazis did it, so how bad could it really be? So, something tells me testing on people will not be a primary practice no matter how much you lobby.

The Pokemon philosophy is certainly flawed, in that the Trainers find wild creatures that, if they cannot escape, are trapped in the Pokeballs and then used for nonlethal combat. That is not generally an accepted practice for treatment of creatures in the animal kingdom, but then I have this sinking feeling that the Pocket Monsters are not often confused with real creatures.

“Pokemon,” “Mario Brothers,” “WoW” and all the other video game franchises out there under fire for causing violence against people or animals are not in the wrong; the people doing such are. Maybe video games do desensitize and alter empathy, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Show me evidence those playing Pokemon games are setting up dog- or cock-fighting rings, or that kids are capturing animals to collect and be stored in containers that defy physics, and I might alter my tune.

What PETA has pointed out is that animal cruelty is wrong, and most people would agree. But like nearly all of PETA’s messages, it has no reasonable solution for the problems when considering society and reality.

The video games and campaigns to prevent mistreatment of animals are easy to make fun of or poke holes in, and the Pokemon spoof is no different, but I have to applaud it for being one of the best PETA marketing moves in a while.

The game has a bit of obvious comedy during the dialogue between battles. It offers strawman arguments and shoots them down. Not that strawman arguments are to be applauded, but a lot of people out there actually use such arguments as validation for action, so shooting those down helps everyone mentally.

With all the time wasted online, playing a spoof game is fairly appealing. That in mind, I recommend playing the game through just to see how ridiculous it might get.

I have yet to complete it as I keep trying to use the “protest” or “group hug” attack modes because it makes me giggle.

So, for once, I think PETA did something positive. The ethical treatment for animals movement is getting some attention that doesn’t instantly make me face-palm.

Granted, I doubt even a small segment of those playing the spoof game will join up with PETA or even care slightly more about PETA’s cause. But at least PETA has, possibly accidentally, entertained people through actions not as boneheaded as their joining of the Chick-fil-A LGBT protesters.