Hop to It! PETA Urges Archaic Rayne Frog Festival to Leave Amphibians Alone

For Immediate Release:
April 22, 2025

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Today, PETA sent a letter to the President of Rayne’s Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Denise Brignac, urging her to reinvent the nature-disrespecting Rayne Frog Festival by jumpstarting a frog-friendly new one that celebrates the amphibians for the interesting individuals they are, rather than tormenting, harassing, slaughtering, and eating them. PETA notes that frogs should be respected as nature’s early warning indicators of environmental hazards, for keeping waterways clean, and for serving other important roles in the web of life, and in the letter, PETA urges Brignac to make the festival fun and educational for everyone, through human leapfrogging competitions, educational exhibits about frogs, costume contests, scavenger hunts, and craft tables—all of which would leave frogs in peace and set a positive example for impressionable youngsters.

“Like you and me, frogs don’t want to be taken from their homes and killed as they have been for over 50 years at this festival,” writes PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Will you please show some understanding of the feelings and complexity of frogs—that they, like people who come to the fair, have love interests and the desire not to be bullied and obviously want to live?”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Brignac follows.

April 22, 2025

Denise Brignac

President, Board of Directors

Chamber of Commerce

Dear Ms. Brignac:

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters worldwide, including thousands across Louisiana—ahead of the Rayne Frog Festival with a request we are hoping you’ll jump on: Will you please end this frog horror fest, which teaches people, including impressionable youngsters, that frogs are simply there to be prodded, poked, eaten, and dressed up to be made fun of? This is all so outdated, disrespectful, and just plain wrong. Instead, will you please show some understanding of the feelings and complexity of frogs? You could show that they are bellwethers of climate change, that they are disappearing from their habitats due to human activities, and that they, like people who come to the fair, have love interests and the desire not to be bullied and obviously want to live.

Times have changed, and it’s indisputable now that frogs are sentient beings who experience fear and pain and that calling them “ugly” and treating them badly because they are small and vulnerable just shows bias and ignorance of nature. Harming them should be no more acceptable than harming any other living, feeling beings. Many frogs are devoted, resourceful parents who guard their eggs from predators and feed them while they’re tadpoles. They have personalities ranging from bold or guarded to relaxed or peaceful. Like you and me, frogs don’t want to be taken from their homes and killed as they have been for over 50 years at this festival.

It would be a great leap forward to celebrate these interesting individuals, who are part of the great variety of life on Earth, with compassion. What if you had visitors participate in “frog jumping” and “leapfrog” competitions and held contests for the person with the best frog costume and frog call imitation? Youngparticipants could be entertained by learning from sensory sand and water tables featuring information about the life cycles of frogs, craft tables, lily pad obstacle courses, and scavenger hunts for plastic “frog eggs” that could be filled with surprises. You might even consider a competition, with prizes going to the artists who make the most intriguing-looking frog sculptures or paintings.

We believe you have a ribbiting opportunity here to create a fun, educational, and frog-friendly celebration for all residents that everyone could enjoy and that would involve no cruel deeds. We look forward to hearing from you. Please let us know how we can help.

Sincerely,

Ingrid Newkirk

President