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.
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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'.
"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.
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.
Topics: Kim Kardashian, Dog, Pets, Animals, The Kardashians, Parenting, North West, Celebrity
Rhiannon Ingle