This holiday season, Kim Kardashian surprised her four children with a unique gift—each received their very own puppy. The reality TV star unveiled the furry presents in a post on her Instagram Stories, much to the delight of her young ones. However, this gesture has stirred some controversy among her followers, and the animal rights organization PETA wasn’t shy in voicing its disapproval.

PETA criticized Kim Kardashian for the gift she gave her children

On Christmas Day, Kardashian took to Instagram Stories to showcase the adorable new additions to her family. She revealed that North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm are now proud owners of Pomeranian puppies, sharing an image of the cute canines lined up on the couch.

Ingrid Newkirk, the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), criticized Kardashian’s decision to give pets as gifts.

“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 the Daily Mail in a statement.

She added that Kardashian should “call PETA or a local shelter the next time” she wants to bring home a pet. Newkirk also believes that Kardashian and her sister Khloé, who also gave her kids a dog, should give back to an animal shelter to make up for the presents. 

“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.”