STEPHENSVILLE, WI (WTAQ) – After being the target of animal cruelty protests last summer, a Catholic parish in the Fox Valley has ended its annual pig wrestling event.
St. Patrick Parish of Stephensville ran it for 44 years with no problem, until the Global Conservation Group of Watertown rounded up 81,000 petition signatures against the pig wrestling. It cited animals being punched in the face, kicked, jumped on, and thrown into buckets.
Two dozen people protested the actual event.
Now, the parish is announcing a replacement event which it calls a “human foosball tournament in the mud.” It will be part of a church fundraiser August 8th and 9th that also includes a Mass, dinner parade, and polka music.
Deacon Bill Bilgrien said the church is excited about the new competition.
The animal protesters, meanwhile, declared victory. Bilgrien wouldn’t call it that. In his words, “We’re just moving to a new area. We just want to have a good festival.”
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
