Christy Lee Parker
The international animal advocacy group is at it once again,
proving that they have way too much time on their hands. They’ve
recently had their eye on a New Hampshire winter carnival after seeing a
“Greased Pig On Ice” event was scheduled to take place. People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wasn’t having it, and they were
quick with their protest, but there’s just one problem.
PETA launched its alert last week regarding the “Greased Pig
On Ice,” desperate to make sure no hogs were harmed. Steve Smith, an
organizer of the 100th Newport Winter Carnival, was quickly flooded with
approximately 100 emails from concerned animal lovers. Folks were
quickly informed that no pigs would be harmed during the Saturday event,
but that didn’t stop PETA from launching their protest. Unfortunately
for them, there wasn’t even a pig involved.
Stop the 'Greased Pig on Ice' Event! https://t.co/VZEGJO4UgG pic.twitter.com/mjgoomMMuU— Animal Rights (@AnimalRRights) February 6, 2016
There was just one problem. The “greased pig on ice” is a
nothing more than a man on skates in a pig costume with dollar bills
tied to his tail. Although PETA spokeswoman Daphna Nachminovitch alleges
that Smith did not clarify what the event would entail, she’s pleased
that the updated information is excellent news for pigs. She was
seemingly unconcerned about the human taking the place of what she
thought was going to be a four-legged critter.
PETA, Newport squabble over greased pig event https://t.co/R5sugGlJUt pic.twitter.com/gSsNZ97qAM— FOX25 News Boston (@fox25news) February 14, 2016
Smith further explained that the alert talked about
“subjecting these highly sensitive animals to such a chaotic and violent
ordeal rife with screaming participants” and also mentioned capturing
the pigs and stuffing them into barrels. None of which was ever
confirmed by PETA before they went of on their Twitter tirade, calling
for a stop to the festivities.
“How can they know what we’re doing if they never even bothered to
ask what we’re doing?” Smith, who’s also the general manager of WCNL
radio in Newport, questioned. “If they just asked, ‘What are your
plans?’ I would have told them.”
Ironically, the carnival has featured greased pig events in
the 1930s and continued off and on until the 1980s. When the topic of
adding a greased pig event to this year’s carnival was discussed during a
planning meeting last fall, Chamber of Commerce president and carnival
doyen Ella Casey was adamant that no pigs be used. So, if a little
research was put into the issue before immediately jumping to protest,
PETA could have saved themselves and others a lot of hassle.
Apparently, PETA didn’t read the fine print on the brochure
either, which clearly stated, “Put on your skates and see if you can
catch him. Prizes. PETA Friendly.”
Further explaining the event, Smith elaborated, saying the
event will feature Newport resident Glen Halleck in a pig costume, being
chased by kids on ice skates on the town common, and the plan is for
the kids to be surprised that the pig is a costumed character. “And it
still will,” Smith stated. “I think the vast majority of the public doesn’t have a clue.” Apparently, PETA didn’t either. No surprise there. Someone needs to give these people something better to do.
Post a Comment