In one of the more unusual press releases coming out of PETA, Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has received a Compassionate Citizen Awards from PETA for the band’s use of an expensive prop octopus in a recent video shoot. Mark explained via Twitter:

We paid nearly $1,000 for a movie prop octopus for a photo shoot so a real one doesn’t have to die. [D]o [I] get an award?

PETA frequently recognizes advertisers and filmmakers who use animatronic models and computer-generated imagery instead of real animals. The group points out that octopi are intelligent and sensitive animals who have been observed cooperating and communicating with each other. Hoppus will receive a framed certificate and a card signed by peta2 staffers.

originally posted on PunkNews.org