Radio Ads Take Aim at Bandera Ham Rodeo
PETA Calls On Gov. Abbott to End Twisted Wild-Pig Chase
For Immediate Release:
March 5, 2020
Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382
As part of its campaign to urge Gov. Greg Abbott to end wild-pig chases like next week’s Bandera Ham Rodeo, in which people chase, tackle, and terrorize frightened young pigs, PETA is saturating the airwaves of local radio stations to alert listeners to the cruelty inherent in such events.
“Wild pigs are sensitive individuals who feel pain and fear, value their lives, and panic when set upon by predators,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s ads will drive home the message to Governor Abbott that these vile spectacles must stop.”
Video footage of last year’s Bandera Ham Rodeo shows event staff dragging young wild pigs by one or more legs around the arena. Contestants chased the petrified animals; grabbed them by the ears, tail, or snout; lifted them off the ground by the legs; and stuffed them into sacks as they cried out. Many panicked animals leapt face-first into the metal arena fencing as they frantically tried to escape, cutting and bloodying their faces. Children at the event were egged on to participate.
PETA’s other efforts to end such unnecessary suffering include meeting with Abbott’s staff; alerting state authorities to violations of Texas law by event organizers; urging sponsors to cut ties with the event; sending a mobile billboard to circle the Texas Governor’s Mansion, governor’s office, and Capitol; and enlisting Texas native Woody Harrelson to send a letter to Abbott informing him that the wild-pig chase is a “violent spectacle” perpetrated by bullies.
The ads will run in 15- and 30-second segments over 100 times on 103.5 BOB FM, STAR 93.3, and Austin City Limits Radio (97.1) through March 12.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, which is the human-supremacist belief that other animals are nothing more than commodities to use, abuse, and torment at will. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
