I kind of hate PETA but sometimes the stuff they complain about is so outlandish that I feel like it has to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Check out their response to President Obama’s fly-swatting on TV.

PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside.

“We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals,” PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. “We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals.”

During an interview for CNBC at the White House on Tuesday, a fly intruded on Obama’s conversation with correspondent John Harwood.

“Get out of here,” the president told the pesky insect. When it didn’t, he waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked it dead.

“Now, where were we?” Obama asked Harwood. Then he added: “That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker.”

Friedrich said that PETA was pleased with Obama’s voting record in the Senate on behalf of animal rights and noted that he has been outspoken against animal abuses.

Still, “swatting a fly on TV indicates he’s not perfect,” Friedrich said, “and we’re happy to say that we wish he hadn’t.”

PETA would pretty much issue a press release if you hugged a puppy too tightly, so you can’t really take them too seriously. But still, this is a bit of a stretch. Flies exist in the billions in any given area. I’m sure this fly’s wife was kind of sad, but I’m pretty sure they’re not even legally married. Plus there’s a guy at the fly wife’s job who’s been really good to her and I’m pretty sure they’ll hook up once she gets over the initial heartbreak of losing her lover. He’ll take care of all the larvae for sure. Oh, also…they’re f’ing flies so none of this matters.

[via]