Animal rights activists are calling for the end of Fear Factor.
A new petition has called for MTV to cancel Fear Factor, claiming the show promotes animal abuse.
Animal rights activists created a Care2 petition after a promo for the show featured a group of celebrities handling exotic and wild animals as part of a competition on the show.
“Using animals in entertainment is always a bad idea, but purposefully abusing animals for entertainment is just sick,” reads the Care2 petition. “Surely there are plenty of ways to shock viewers that don’t involve animal cruelty.”
At the time of publication, the petition has gathered over 36,000 signatures.
MTV did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Hosted by Ludacris, Fear Factor‘s revival season will pit the celebrities against one another as they confront their fears and push themselves past their comfort zones.
As standard on the show, which first aired in 2001, the competitions include a hybrid of physical stunts and gross-out tasks.
It is not unusual for a contestant to be asked to eat bugs or handle live animals.
Fear Factor airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.
