SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked that General Mills give the hook to its latest Wheaties box champion, a bass fisherman from the Ozarks.
Denny Brauer of Camdenton, who has won a record $1.35 million in prize money over the years, is to begin appearing on the cereal boxes in October.
"Anglers have no place next to real sportsmen like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, who better represent the breakfast of champions," PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement Tuesday.
In a letter to General Mills president Charles Gaillard, the animal rights group said fishing is cruel not only to fish but also to birds and other animals injured by discarded hooks and tackle.
"In June, Wheaties snubbed Sen. John Glenn, astronaut and American hero, denying him the box front on the basis that he is not an athlete," Newkirk said.
"But ... tricking small animals into impaling themselves on hooks and ripping them from their homes -- from the comfort of an expensive boat -- requires no athletic skill whatsoever."
A person who answered the phone Tuesday at General Mills headquarters in Golden Valley, Minn., said a Wheaties spokesman wasn't available to comment.
Brauer didn't return a call for comment.
Brauer, 49, captured the BASS Masters Classic championship earlier this month in High Rock, N.C., and is the biggest money winner in Bass Anglers Sportsman Society history.
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