The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals criticised the “greasy pig” and “Catch me if you can” competitions held in Suva’s Sukuna Park on September 3, 1985.
The following day, veterinarian Alison Whelan told The Fiji Times they would organise a “silent protest” with placards at the park if the events continued.
The competitions were part of the lunch hour Suva Hibiscus Carnival celebrations.
The pig-catching competition involved greasing a pig and letting it loose in a fenced area for a competitor to catch. The same principle applied to the Country Pride Chicken-sponsored chicken competition, except that the chickens were not coated with grease.
Ms Whelan said they were strongly opposed to the competitions as they were extremely cruel.
“We rang up the organisers and told them it was cruel, but they just laughed and said that it was a good crowd pleaser,” she said.
She said the society could not do anything apart from protesting since it had “legally nothing to stand on”.
“Not only is the grease affecting the pig, but pigs generally are subject to stress very easily.”
She said it was sad to see people were using animals for entertainment purposes.
Legal sources told this newspaper there were no provisions covering cruelty to animals in the Animals Act. The source said all it had was legislation about dogs, but even this had nothing to do with cruelty to animals.
“The legislation, unfortunately, is concerned with matters relating to licences,” the sources said.
