[Zebra 3]

Mel Gibson’s controversial film The Passion of the Christ depicts the suffering of Christ. And that is prompting attacks from some who say that Gibson has been causing the suffering of critters.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is planning to protest Gibson today, descending on his cattle ranch in Columbus, Montana while bearing signs that read: “Thou Shalt Not Kill” and “Honor all of God’s Creations.”

“Anyone who sends cows to slaughter mocks God,” says PETA’s vegan campaign director Bruce Friedrich, who also is a devout Roman Catholic. “Slaughterhouses are the embodiment of violence, bloodshed, and cruelty. If Gibson wants his audience to contemplate the awfulness of inflicting suffering on the innocent, he should show his own animals some mercy.”

Gibson’s rep wasn’t available for comment