(CNN) — The spider never had a chance.
A tiny arachnid crawling across New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s desk met a quick demise last week when the Republican gave the crawler a smack. Christie’s daughter happened to be touring the governor’s office with her fourth grade class.
Later, he tweeted video of the incident, with the message, “Earlier today I saved a few school children from a spider.”
But even the seemingly innocent spider kill caught the eye of animal rights activists. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote in a statement that Christie “probably did it without thinking.”
“Some people put the spider outside, but spiders are often scary to people, and that can prevent them from pondering their worth,” the group continues.
