Animal rights organization PETA is facing backlash after criticizing Google's decision to honor the late Australian conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin with a Google Doodle.
"PETA must ask who commissioned these dangerous, hagiographic cartoons of a man who died while harassing a stingray, dangled his baby while feeding a crocodile, and 'wrestled' wild animals who were minding their own business," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. "This fawning, ignorant tribute is a slap in the face to the vast majority of people who acknowledge that wild animals are entitled to be left alone in their natural habitats."
Soon after the organization made the comments attacking Irwin's legacy, people took to Twitter to fire back.
Irwin died on September 4, 2006 after being stung several times by a short-tail stingray. He was 44.