Controversial animal activist group PETA is under fire over a series of tweets accusing Google of "fawning" over Steve Irwin.

Key points: PETA posted a series of tweets accusing the late Steve Irwin of "harassing" wildlife

PETA posted a series of tweets accusing the late Steve Irwin of "harassing" wildlife The backlash was swift and severe, with the group being accused of seeking publicity

The backlash was swift and severe, with the group being accused of seeking publicity The organisation doubled down on its statements and is yet to issue an apology

On Friday, Google used its search engine homepage to pay tribute to what would have been the television star's 57th birthday by replacing its logo with an illustration of him holding a crocodile — the first in a series depicting Irwin's adventures as an animal rights activist, showman and family man.

Google users around the world saw the illustrations, which led to a large spike in internet searches for the Crocodile Hunter star.

It prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA for short, to issue a series of tweets accusing Google of sending "a dangerous, fawning message".

"Steve Irwin was killed while harassing a ray; he dangled his baby while feeding a crocodile & wrestled wild animals who were minding their own business," it wrote.

Steve Irwin was honoured in a Google Doodle on Friday, on what would have been his 57th birthday. ( Google )

"Steve Irwin's actions were not on target with his supposed message of protecting wildlife.

"It is harassment to drag exotic animals, including babies taken from their mothers, around from TV talk shows to conferences & force them to perform as Steve Irwin did."

Reaction to the tweets was swift and severe, with the divisive lobby group accused of seeking publicity at any cost.

"You knew that by dragging a beloved dead man's name through the mud, you'd get more eyes and clicks on your brand," Ryan Magee wrote.

"Ya know what you're doing. Rage marketing works."

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Another compared the group to "the kid who wasn't invited to the party but came anyway and s*** in the pool just to get a reaction", while others pointed to Irwin's track record of wildlife conservation.

"There have been few people who have done more for wildlife conservation and education than the Irwin family. You owe them an apology," Dave Hogg wrote.

"Steve Irwin did far more for the conservation of animals than PETA has ever done," Robby Starbuck added.

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PETA later doubled down on its tweets, issuing a statement attributed to PETA president Ingrid Newkirk reiterating the comments.

It is not the first time the group has come under fire, and it is unlikely to be the last.

The organisation attracted widespread derision for an infogram posted to Twitter in December, urging users to stop using "anti-animal" language, like "bring home the bacon".

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On its website, PETA itself concedes it does "extraordinary things" to get its message out: "Thus, we try to make our actions colourful and controversial, thereby grabbing headlines around the world".

It is yet to issue an apology.