NewsNational

Actions

Should this church cancel its pig wrestling event?

Posted at 12:02 PM, Aug 13, 2014
and last updated 2014-08-13 12:02:02-04

A Wisconsin church is receiving a lot of criticism for its annual pig wrestling event, which raises money for the parish.

Pig wrestling takes place across the country. It generally happens in a mud pit where teams have to catch a pig, as this group is doing in a similar event. At St. Patrick Parish, they have less than a minute to do so and touch some part of the pig to the top of a barrel.

But a petition started by the Global Conservation Group of Watertown, Wisconsin, claims the event is a violation of Wisconsin Chapter 951, which prohibits animal fights. The petition has reached more than 60,000 signatures.

The thing is, though, there are two very different sides to this story. Activists for the change say the pigs are "punched in the face, body slammed and yelled at." That, of course, sounds awful.

But the church says that's not true, stating on its website, "Consideration is taken to ensure that the pigs are safe and free from any abuse."

To judge pig wrestling footage for yourself and learn more, watch this Newsy video