Pete Davidson Leaves PETA Unhinged Voice Mail Over New Dog, Says He's Defending Family

Pete Davidson is going to war with PETA over the new dog he bought, and he fired the latest shot via a profanity-laced voice mail for the animal rights group -- a move he doesn't regret, but says came from a place of grief.

PETA says the actor left the heated message Monday for the org's Senior VP of Cruelty Investigations, Daphna Nachminovitch. He got her name because she'd issued a statement to TMZ, expressing PETA's collective disappointment in Pete buying a puppy at an NYC pet store instead of adopting from a shelter.

On the voice mail, Pete announces himself and says he's responding to Daphna's statement, which he calls uneducated and premature. He notes he's allergic to dogs -- as his rep told us -- and that's why he had to get a cavapoo, a nearly hypoallergenic breed because they don't shed.

He also says the dog is for his mother, whose previous pup just died.

Then comes an expletive-laced diatribe that might rival Christian Bale (not really, though) ... in which he angrily tells Daphna to do her research before talking to media, drops an F-bomb and makes a vulgar suggestion involving his penis.

PETA isn't backing down, though, telling TMZ, "If Pete had done his research, he would know that there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog, that at least a quarter of dogs in shelters are purebreds, and that Petfinder has listings for homeless dogs of every breed under the sun, including the one he purchased."

We contacted Pete about his furious voice mail, and he admits he was unaware he could "adopt a specific hypoallergenic dog." He says he was told "it wasn't an option, and if it was, it was rare."

As for his anger, he addressed that by emphasizing his family was really going through it after his mother's dog died -- "I haven't seen my mom and sister cry like that in over 20 years. I was trying to cheer up my family. I was already upset that the store had filmed me without my permission or acknowledgement. Then this organization (PETA) made a public example of us, making our grieving situation worse. I am upset. It was a poor choice of words. I shouldn't have said what I said, but I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family."

Prior to Pete offering that explanation, PETA told us ... "Our hearts go out to the Davidson family for the loss of their dog, but Pete must know in his heart that there's no excuse for buying a dog and propping up the puppy mill industry when millions of dogs await loving homes in shelters, and we hope he'll do the right thing and adopt next time."

It's clear neither side is blinking in the shop vs. adopt a dog debate.