A pig race, yes, a pig race is causing awful problems in Co. Wicklow following a petition to stop the race in Arklow taking place.
The annual pig race is one of the most popular attractions every year at the Arklow Seabreeze Festival and has been for the last 24 years but this year is facing some stiff opposition.
Animal rights activist, Ciara Fitzgerald, started a petition to end the pig race and so far it has received over 1,900 signatures.
Writing on her petition page, Fitzgerald states:
Pigs are highly intelligent and sentient beings, with real fears. Forcing them to race in a crowd of baying people, is absurd and beyond cruel and is not 'Entertainment'. You can see the look of fear in the pigs every year and it's time to come into the 21st century and end this now.
Speaking on The Brendan O' Connor Show on RTÉ Radio One, Local Fianna Fáil councillor and festival committee member, Tommy Annesley explained that the pigs are well treated
These pigs are treated better than being on a farm. These pigs are brought in on a cattle trailer, not a truck, a cattle trailer with straw, with water and with meal on board the cattle trailer... rested for an hour on the cattle trailer to get used to the noise... they're ushered out by a professional pig trainer and his family and then they're ran up the street.
Pig racing has gone national and according to Mr. Annesley, it's taking place in other festivals throughout the country this summer. He also disagreed with claims that pigs are distressed by all the noise saying:
If a pig was distressed, it wouldn't stop to eat an ice cream Brendan, I would presume.
Ms. Fitzgerald has been the victim of online abuse since beginning the petition with people writing slurs such as: "You're a gobs*ite", "freak", "Look like a pig" and that she was "out to ruin the town". She is entitled to her opinion and should not be subjected to cruel jibes even if people don't agree with her and Mr. Annesley shared those sentiments saying he "didn't condone" the abuse she was getting.
Annesley said he knows Ms. Fitzgerald and that her petition was "a bit short notice" and that if she had approached the committee with a solution and suggested another event that would be as big as the pig race they would have welcomed that, but he defended the race saying it was “one of the highlights of the festival”.
As it stands, the race will be going ahead this Sunday at the festival, and so far this issue has served as great publicity for the festival, so hopefully it will be a good weekend for everyone.
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