Petitioners criticize county fair’s hog wrestling event

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) – People as far away as England are signing an online petition protesting the annual hog wrestling event held at the Delaware County Fair.

The Star Press reports that petitioners claim that using the hogs for entertainment is “cruel,” and have pled to the organizers to cancel the event.

“We the signed ask the Delaware County Fair Board of Muncie, Indiana to cancel the 2015 (and future years) hog wrestling event, and choose another event that doesn’t promote cruelty to animals,” the petition reads. “Using pigs as entertainment for humans is inhumane & cruelty to animals!”

Petitioners also note that hog wrestling is misnamed because “a pig cannot physically wrestle a human.”

“There are many non-violent forms of entertainment for humans that could be held instead, such as, human mud wrestling (two humans), mud football, bicycle races, art contests, science fair, paint ball tag, water gun tag,” the petition reads. “The numbers of other types of events are endless.”

Fair organizers say they have heard some complaints about the hog wrestling, which has been a feature of the fair for about a decade now, but have no immediate plans to discontinue the event.

“I don’t think it’s cruel,” said fair board member Jane Lasater. “We just had a Kentucky Derby yesterday and we have rodeos. Those animals are for entertainment, too. This is part of farm life.”

Lasater said the hogs used for wrestling vary in size, according to the age of the teams that try to capture the pigs. The pigs used are provided by a Southern Indiana hog farmer who takes truckloads of pigs from one Indiana county fair to another. According to Lasater, the owner monitors the event to make sure participants do not mishandle the pigs.