Just as the infamous Cove in Taiji, Japan is covered with blue tarps to hide the killing of thousands of dolphins from the watchful eye of activists -- in Ohio County, Indiana, Campshore Campground owners have barred observers from filming today’s “Snapperfest”.
In interviews with local media, event organizers denied allegations of animal cruelty. "This weekend doesn't involve the killing of any turtles," said Greg Parks. "It's just a little fun the guys have, of who can grab it the fastest and get it out the quickest."
Videos from previous events tell a different tale, displaying graphic violence as the snapping turtles are grabbed from plastic bins and slammed to the ground, only to have their heads yanked out of their shells by overall clad participants. In some footage, the contestants were shown swinging the animals by their necks.
Despite the organizers' claims that the event is “good clean fun” -- representatives from the World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S), who were on-hand to film the event, were barred from entering the facilities. Tom McPhee, Executive Director and Founder of WA2S, posted on facebook that he was told to “leave the property and not come back again today.”
Meanwhile, a petition at change.org has gathered more than 12,000 signatures and activists around the world have been using facebook to urge Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to intervene and stop the event. As of the time of publication, the governor has failed to respond to the hundreds of comments on his facebook page.
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Indiana Campground to Host Turtle Torture Event on August 20th
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