From WTHR13 in Indianapolis - excerpt: “If they were doing this with dogs, they would be going to jail for this,” said Joel Kerr with Indiana Animal Rights Alliance.
Kerr's organization backed a recent petition to cancel hog wrestling at the Delaware County Fair. That petition gained thousands of signatures both locally and around the world.
Delaware County's fair board voted to cancel its hog wrestling event to avoid the controversy after the petition gained momentum.
It would seem animal rights advocates in other counties are following suit. Online petitions have sprung up in counties across the state like Whitley, Monroe, Harrison , Grant and Noble counties, all with the goal of getting fairs in those counties to cancel their hog wrestling events.
“Communities are sort of standing up and saying, 'We don't want this. We don't want the reputation',” said Kerr.
Read the rest: http://www.wthr.com/story/29160235/morgan-county-fair-says-it-has-no-plans-to-cancel-hog-wrestling-despite-controversy
I was trying to understand what "hog wrestling" was exactly, and thought it had to be some very cruel practice if people were getting up in arms over it. Then I read: This is what's causing all the controversy? Sure, it's not a pleasant experience for the pigs, but it only lasts 45 seconds and they're not physically harmed..."Pigs are tough animals, so I just don't see the danger,” said Fisher. "None of the pigs have ever gotten hurt or injured on our watch."
Teams of four people have 45 seconds to try and catch a pig and bring it to the center of the ring and place it on top of a closed barrel with a tire on top.
"Last year, I had to disqualify a team of girls just as soon as they got in there, cause the girl reached down and grabbed the pig's ear and I blew the whistle and stopped it. You can't grab the ears,” explained Fisher.