Teh One Who Knocks
11-03-2011, 06:39 PM
Reported by: Max Winitz - WWSB-TV Channel 7 News
http://i.imgur.com/2King.jpg
TERRA CEIA - The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is back at it again, this time protesting a contest at an annual event in the small Terra Ceia community in Manatee County.
On November 12, hundreds will gather at Seabreeze Park in Terra Ceia for the annual Mullet Smoke Off. During that event, many will participate in a contest called the mullet toss, which is a game where contestants try to toss a dead mullet as far as they can toward targets like a toilet bowl.
That's not sitting too well with representatives from PETA.
The organization's Associate Director, Chris Holbein, sent a fiery letter to event organizers saying: "The mullet toss is a degrading and a disrespectful waste of life, and it sends the message to children that it's acceptable to cause an animal to suffer a terrifying and painful death just for some cheap laughs."
Many residents planning on attending the Smoke-Off disagree.
"If the event were torturing fish, I would feel absolutely different, but its not. It's an animal that is already going to be deceased and it has been a tradition on the island for many years," says Joe Dougherty.
"They (PETA) do some very important work around the country and the world. Many of these efforts I support, but this is beyond the pale," says Bill Burger.
This is the second time in a little over a month,that PETA is making headlines in Manatee County. In late September, they announced plans to release a graphic billboard in response to a young man being bitten by a shark off of Anna Maria Island.
Organizers of the event say that once the tossing contest is over, they take the fish and feed them to some of the other wildlife on the island. Last year the smoke-off generated about $9,000. That money, each and every year, is used for preservation efforts on Terra Ceia.
http://i.imgur.com/2King.jpg
TERRA CEIA - The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is back at it again, this time protesting a contest at an annual event in the small Terra Ceia community in Manatee County.
On November 12, hundreds will gather at Seabreeze Park in Terra Ceia for the annual Mullet Smoke Off. During that event, many will participate in a contest called the mullet toss, which is a game where contestants try to toss a dead mullet as far as they can toward targets like a toilet bowl.
That's not sitting too well with representatives from PETA.
The organization's Associate Director, Chris Holbein, sent a fiery letter to event organizers saying: "The mullet toss is a degrading and a disrespectful waste of life, and it sends the message to children that it's acceptable to cause an animal to suffer a terrifying and painful death just for some cheap laughs."
Many residents planning on attending the Smoke-Off disagree.
"If the event were torturing fish, I would feel absolutely different, but its not. It's an animal that is already going to be deceased and it has been a tradition on the island for many years," says Joe Dougherty.
"They (PETA) do some very important work around the country and the world. Many of these efforts I support, but this is beyond the pale," says Bill Burger.
This is the second time in a little over a month,that PETA is making headlines in Manatee County. In late September, they announced plans to release a graphic billboard in response to a young man being bitten by a shark off of Anna Maria Island.
Organizers of the event say that once the tossing contest is over, they take the fish and feed them to some of the other wildlife on the island. Last year the smoke-off generated about $9,000. That money, each and every year, is used for preservation efforts on Terra Ceia.