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The family of Jonathan Martin, a Suffolk toddler who was mauled to death by a pit bull, is calling on PETA to pull one of its ads.

Jonathan's parents say PETA never consulted them about using the boy in a campaign to push a statewide ban on chaining dogs. The group claims putting dogs on chains makes the animals more aggressive.

There is a divide in the family over this. The boy's cousin is on PETA's side, urging lawmakers to introduce a bill to restrict chaining to no more than three hours per day.

It has been a tough, emotional time for martin's loved ones over the last year. His parents and extended family say PETA is taking advantage of their loss to fuel interest for their campaign.

The ad opens with Alice Conner saying, "In 2005, two dogs who had spent most of their lives chained up outdoors, killed my 2-year-old cousin Jonathan."

The public service announcement was released Tuesday showing Martin's second cousin Alice pleading for a change. PETA say Conner contacted them and signed on with the campaign. That floored most of Martin's family when they saw it.

"We want PETA to pull the commercial, we want them to not use Jonathan’s picture because we don't support it at all," said Denise Leighton, Jonathan’s aunt.

That includes Martin's parents, who are serving 3 years in jail in connection with his death. They were also not contacted, nor do they approve of their son being used.

"I don't think PETA has any right, they didn't ask me and they didn't ask Heather, and we're the ones paying for this, they didn't ask us," said James Martin from prison.

The two-year-old died in October 2005 after being mauled by the family dog. Investigators believe the child was playing with a newborn puppy and the pit bull was protecting it. But PETA believes the fact the dog was chained up contributed to her aggressiveness.

"I don't think other people who mourn shouldn't be allowed to use this to prevent other people from suffering," said PETA’s Daphna Nachminovitch.

The campaign to curb aggressiveness has ignited an ugly family feud and is raising the question of whether or not this little boy's image should be protected.

"Alice represents herself, she doesn't represent our family as a whole," said Leighton.

13News was unable to contact Ms. Conner for this story but PETA says these were her wishes and her right to share her feelings with others.