PETA Rips Kim Kardashian for Kitty Picture

Kim Kardashian, former socialite turned model, television personality and designer, has come under serious fire with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) after she tweeted a picture of her and a kitten, taken during a photo shoot in Australia. This has sparked a series of comments and pro and con arguments on both sides, as TMZ can confirm.

The photo, showing Kim in what looks like a black leather outfit, got PETA upset because she’s seen holding a kitten by the skin on the back of the neck. According to the organization, just because cats carry their kittens like this, it doesn’t mean that people can do so too. The star, on the other hand, insists that she did no wrong, especially since she also had a trainer and a vet on the set with her, specifically to look after the little animal she was handling.

“Kim Kardashian isn’t the only person who mistakenly thinks that because a mother cat picks up her kittens by the scruff of the neck that a supportive hand under the rump isn’t needed,” PETA said in a statement. Kim replied on her blog that she was not at fault. “I have been getting negative comments regarding the way I was holding the kitty, but rest assured, the owner and vet were on set and showed me how to pick him up. The cat was not harmed in any way and is perfectly fine! I love animals and would never do anything to harm any animals,” the star wrote.

According to TMZ, other organizations, also dealing with animals, are also coming to Kim’s defense, thus suggesting that PETA might have jumped the gun on this one. “We spoke to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals L.A., who told us ‘It is permissible to hold a kitten by his or her scruff for a brief amount of time’... but warns, ‘the manner in which Ms. Kardashian is holding the kitten could lead others to mishandle animals.’ According to sources on the set of the photo shoot where the pic was taken, Kim only held the cat by the scruff for a few seconds – and did it with the owner and a vet’s consent,” TMZ writes.

The same outlet informs that the kitten is “fine” now, most certainly not even aware of the kind of controversy it helped create online.