CygamesPETA has sparked a wave of backlash in the Umamusume community after they posted a graphic image of a fan favorite horse girl with a graphic injury.
On December 10, the animal rights group uploaded an image of Silence Suzuka with a broken leg alongside a caption: “If Umamusume: Pretty Derby were honest, your favorite horse girl doesn’t get a comeback arc. One failed event, and the race is over forever. Just like what happened to the real Silence Suzuka.”
For those unfamiliar, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a wildly popular Japanese multimedia series where famous real-world racehorses are reimagined as anime girls. These “horse girls” train, race, and perform as idols, with stories designed to honor the legacies of the original horses, like the iconic story behind Haru Urara, the beloved racehorse who never won a single race.
Because of this, fans were quick to point out that PETA’s post is not only misleading but also directly violates the strict creative guidelines surrounding the franchise.
PETA Umamusume image sparks outrage
As outlined on the official site, the developers prohibit fans from creating or sharing content involving explicit, sexual, illegal, political, or rights-infringing depictions of the characters to protect how the real horses are represented.
“They’re exploiting an injury for shock value without acknowledging the immense effort keiba professionals put into ensuring the best possible care for the horses,” wrote one fan. “Additionally, they seem to be disregarding fanwork guidelines.”
The outrage has also reignited discussion around the real-world Silence Suzuka, one of Japan’s most beloved racehorses. Silence Suzuka suffered a catastrophic leg injury during the 1998 Tenno Sho, where his injury was so severe that he had to be euthanized on the track.
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His death left a lasting emotional impact on fans and the racing world, which is part of why his portrayal in Umamusume is handled with care, focusing on tribute rather than replicating real events.
This has led to fans across social media pushing back against PETA’s framing of the event. One user wrote: “Umamusume does more for the welfare of the horses it honours than misleading and self-serving posts like this do.. do better or be quiet.”
Another said: “I can not express how much I loathe the association of the injury to the real-life horse and their anime, fictional counterpart, when they are not equivalent in any way, shape, or form. Also, the complexity of putting down a severely injured horse is beyond your understanding, it seems.”