Kim Kardashian slammed by PETA after gifting each of her four children a dog

Kim Kardashian has been slammed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after gifting each of her four children a dog.

The 45-year-old reality TV star, who shares North, 12, Saint, 10, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6, with her ex-husband Kanye West, decided to give her little ones a pooch each for Christmas - a gifting choice which prompted PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk to issue a statement calling out the move.

Kim took to her Instagram Stories to share a sweet snap of all four four-legged friends sat in a line with the overlay text reading: "Each kid got a puppy."

She opted for Pomeranian puppies: two with dark fur, one with a cream coat, and one with light-brown fur.

After catching light of the news, the mum-of four was slammed for not adopting the doggos from a shelter and contributing to the 'growing homeless puppy crisis'.

Kim Kardashian has been called out by PETA after giving each of her four kids a Pomeranian puppy (Instagram/@kimkardashian)

"Puppies are not plushies, and it’s a damn shame that Kim missed the chance to be a spokesperson for shelter pups and instead is being rightly slammed on social media for that," Newkirk told PEOPLE in a statement.

She also urged Kim and her sister Khloé Kardashian, who also gifted a dog to her family for the big day, to 'call PETA or a local shelter the next time' they want to add another dog to their Kar-Jen family clan.

"Ignoring the homeless animals crisis is inexcusably callous, and so we ask Kim and Khloé, who did the same thing, to call PETA or a local shelter the next time they want to bring an animal into their home - and try to make some amends now by sending their kids to volunteer at a local shelter or paying for a local shelter adopt-a-thon or at least one spay day to help stop the growing homeless puppy crisis," she added.

Redditors also slammed the Christmas gifting choice (Instagram/@kimkardashian)

After catching light of the news, critics rushed online to share their thoughts as one Reddit user, per the Daily Mail, slammed: "Puppies are not Christmas gifts for kids."

"Animals and pets are not gifts unless someone has really wanted that pet and will truly look after it. This is f*cked up," hit out another.

And a third chimed in: "If they each got a puppy, then it’s not special at all. How will they learn to love one pet as siblings when they each get a personal dog, like it’s a Tamagotchi?"

On top of the four new pet additions to the family, Kim already had several Pomeranian dogs, including ones named Sushi and Saké.

Kim’s family has also kept pet lizards, including a bearded dragon named Speed.

Tyla has reached out to Kim Kardashian's representatives for further comment.