People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent a letter to Jerome Hertel, manager of the South Dakota State Fair asking him to ensure that all animal exhibitors invited to participate in the fair are in compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act. In the letter PETA claims that its offices are "inundated every year with complaints that exhibitors at fairs and festivals across the country have abused animals or endangered the public."PETA is asking Hertel to implement the following guidelines:
- An exhibitor will be ineligible to appear at the fair if he or she has been cited by the USDA within the past three years for inadequate veterinary care, improper and/or dangerous animal handling, or failure to provide adequate food, water, shelter, or space.A post on AgWired indicates that some in South Dakota view PETA's actions as "targeting South Dakota 4-H and FFA member in their livestock projects." According to PETA Director Debbie Heahy, PETA's peference would be to ban "all live-animal exhibits from the fair."
- An exhibitor who is traveling with primates must provide proof that each animal has tested negative within the past year for tuberculosis and herpes -- both of which can be transmitted to humans.
- All exhibitors must provide a written plan for the safe recapture of escaped animals.
- All exhibitors must disclose all past incidents in which any of the animals who will appear at the fair potentially endangered the public.
Posted: 06/22/09
