Yesterday, my fair experience was all but pleasant when I walked around the animal show arenas.
Cows were tied to a poll with such a small rope that they couldn't even lay down comfortably. They were cramped so close together that they were forced to lay in their own manure.
As I made my way over to where the pigs were, I witnessed a young owner (I'm guessing she couldn't have been older than 12) smack her pig hard in the face twice in attempt to get it to lay down so she could brush it. She continued to use her training whip aggressively to get the pig to follow her commands. These training whips are made for the owners to tap their animals repeatedly to create an annoyance (not pain) so they follow commands. Owners and trainers are also not suppose to use these whips to tap or hit around the animals face. Considering this, I witnessed multiple owners hit their pigs on the face specifically around the eye area. This is an extreme danger for the animals.
Please help be the voice for these animals and sign this petition to demand that the 4H club and its proteges follow a more strict guideline on the better treatment of their show animals.
