An animal rights charity is urging the public to boycott the Love/Hate TV series, after the opening scene saw a cat being shot to death.

The Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) says the scene does "irreparable damage to their work of curbing violent crimes towards animals".

The scene showed two young teenagers shooting a cat to death with a gun, and then laughing.

ARAN says it is "incensed and angered" and say that whilst they are aware the cat was not actually killed, it comes at a time of record reports of violence towards animals around the country.

Already the group says it has been fielding dozens of complaints from viewers.

"Violence towards animals is on the rise in Ireland and this violent and disgusting scene in Love Hate does huge damage to our work of creating kindness towards animals on the streets" said ARAN Director John Carmody. "We’re encouraging people to switch channels next time the programme airs".

ARAN is urging the producers of the show to make a generous donation to school educational programs in Ireland that would reach out to a younger generation about the importance of treating animals with respect.

Octagon Films says no animals were harmed in the making of the series. While the cat itself has already found fame on Twitter as a result of last night's show.

The first episode of the new series had an average audience of 971,000 viewers last night, according to RTÉ.