We went to the county fair this past weekend. There were a few rides, lots of tractors, pigs, chickens and lots of booths. We stopped cold when we saw a booth with bunny rabbits in it. Not show bunnies, not pedigreed rabbits, but bunnies running around a pen. In the middle was a round trough with floating bowls.
Balls were so many for a buck.
It took me a minute to figure out that the rabbits WERE the PRIZE for getting a ball into a bowl.
rabbits
Is that cruel?
It just didn’t seem right to me.
It was a small county fair and there were animals everywhere. The pig competition was going on while we were there, and yes there were show rabbits inside. But still.
I didn’t know whether to turn the promoter in or not. Or even who to call.
Upon returning home, I googled my answer. Seems this is a common practice among some small fairs. Bunnies as prizes. Seems the folks who win have to have permission (if they’re kids) from their parents otherwise they get one of the (four) stuffed animals they had hanging around the booth. Winners get a bunny, a bag of food and an instruction sheet on how to care for their win.
But, how many winners really wanted a bunny? Or have the place to keep one? Or the know how to keep it healthy?
How many end up being turned loose at the park?
Giving away live animals as prizes appears to presently be legal in this state, but that doesn’t make it right. I hope that the fair board will decline any pets for prizes for next years fair.
Tags: county fair, rabbits