WHAT'S NEXT

Tell Mafia Wars: Pit Bulls Aren't Weapons
  1. Signatures
    529 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. CEO, Zynga (Mark Pincus)
  2. Created By
    Stephanie Feldstein
    Ypsilanti, MI
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
How We Won

May 05, 2010

Victory! Zynga has removed the pit bull from Mafia Wars.

The company explains: "We are a pet-friendly company and have animals in most of our games including FarmVille and PetVille. We have raised 130,000 dollars for the San Francisco chapter of the SPCA through our YoVille game and that campaign is still running."

Thanks to everyone who spoke up for the dogs!

The popular Facebook game, Mafia Wars, recently announced that animals were going to be a new "fully-fledged combat item class." The new animal weapons include lions, tigers, and pit bulls.

Reinforcing stereotypes of pit bulls as dangerous animals only fuels breed specific legislation and the mystique of dog fighting, costing innocent dogs their lives.

Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, the company that created Mafia Wars named the company after his own American bulldog, a breed that is often maligned alongside "pit bull" type dogs.

Ask Mr. Pincus to protect bully breeds by not promoting negative stereotypes in his games.

Recent Signatures

Please Stop Promoting Negative Pit Bull Stereotypes

Greetings,

I recently learned that Zynga's Mafia Wars launched a new class of animal weapons, which includes pit bulls. I was disappointed by this news, especially in light of Zynga's name and logo in honor of your own American bulldog, a breed which is often abused by criminals and targeted by breed specific legislation alongside "pit bull" type dogs.

By making pit bulls weapons, Zynga is perpetuating negative stereotypes about these dogs. These stereotypes cost innocent dogs their lives through dog fighting, abuse, and breed bans.

I urge you to reconsider this new combat item class. Pit bulls (and breeds like American bulldogs who are associated with and often confused for pit bulls) have a hard enough time as it is.

Please take animals out of Mafia Wars. They shouldn't be portrayed as weapons.

[Your name]

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