Battlefield 3 has come under fire from animal rights group PETA this week, with the organisation accusing the military shooter of encouraging “sadistic” violence towards animals.
The group’s outburst is directed at the third mission of Battlefield 3’s single-player campaign, which allows the player to stab a rat with their combat knife.
A translated press release reads: "The realistic computer game Battlefield 3 treats animals in a sadistic manner. The game gives players the option to kill a rat with a combat knife in the back in order to then lift it by its tail, then toss it away.”
PETA goes on to claim that the violence depicted in this scene can have "a brutalising effect on the young male target audience."
"There have been repeated cases of animal cruelty in Germany, where young people kill animals. Inspiration behind these acts often came from movies and computer games,” it adds.