Many know minor league baseball stadiums near them as bastions of the strange promotional nights, whether it is Star Wars Night, Pokemon Go-themed nights, or countless crazier, quirkier promotions.
One of the most popular across the Minor League Baseball landscape happens to be that of the Cowboy Monkey Rodeo. Said rodeos are usually monkeys sitting on top of dogs that chase other animals around the outfield as entertainment.
However, PETA is pissed about it and has asked MiLB to stop promoting and using Cowboy Monkey Rodeos as entertainment at games across all levels.
In a letter to MiLB, PETA primatologist Julia Gallucci points out some of the organization’s main grievances against the promotion:
I am writing to you on behalf of PETA and its more than 5 million members and supporters worldwide to urge you to establish a policy prohibiting “monkey rodeos” at all MiLB games. During these cruel events, capuchin monkeys are forced into costumes, tethered to dogs, and made to “race” around a track. The monkeys cling desperately to the dogs, who can reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and are trained to start and stop abruptly so that the monkeys are violently jerked up and down and side to side, risking serious physical injury.
For his part, MiLB president Pat O’Connor had a quick response to the animal rights organization:
“Minor League Baseball neither supports nor encourages the practice of using animal acts of any kind, especially animal acts for which the Humane Society has expressed serious concerns, to entertain our great fans,”
“We encourage clubs to ensure that the promotions they host do not endanger the health or safety of any animal, but respect the rights of our teams to make decisions regarding their promotional events at the local level.”
O’Connor appears to be walking the tight rope of trying not to tick off the likes of PETA and giving the organizations within minor league baseball the local control they have always had. Will an outright ban be in the future?
Given the nature of today’s society, PETA may get its ban, especially on those promotions that choose to use the popular Tim Lepard’s Team Ghost Riders organization, which has been allegedly cited for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
