Pets as prizes: Community upset about parish fair prize

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Humane Society of Louisiana, along with many others, are outraged after rabbits and other animals were given out as prizes at a parish fair.

“We really want to have our state be considerate and compassionate to animals and not have them be this discarded, throwaway trinket,” Executive Director of the Humane Society of Louisiana Jeff Dorson said.

Dorson says since the start of the Livingston Parish Fair, he’s been getting reports of pets being given out as prizes.

“We also had reports that kids were absolutely abusing rabbits at the fair itself. They were throwing it like a football. Tell me what rabbit would enjoy that in a loud, scary environment surrounded by all these foreign noises and lights,” Dorson said.

Dorson says veterinarians tell him animals they treat from fairs are often malnourished and injured. He says most families are not prepared for the time and expense that goes into caring for them.

“They require a lot of time, energy, and resources. You just don’t throw it in your backyard. So you need an exercise pin, bedding, water bottle, maybe a heat lamp, bedding, and it has to be vaccinated by a veterinarian so you’re looking at that. Your eight-year-old daughter brings home a rabbit and says hey Mom and Dad, now what. And the novelty quickly wears off. Who at 9 o’clock at a Friday night has all of that when you come home with these animals?” Dorson said.

Dorson says the Humane Society spoke with the fair board a few years ago and thought they agreed to stop, but he says nothing has changed.

“We were under the impression that they stopped this practice, so we were rightfully horrified to learn that nope, they’re continuing in spite all the objections from virtually every humane society in the state and region,” Dorson said.

We also reached out to one family who received a rabbit as a prize this past week. They say the rabbit is being well taken care of, and they had to be 18 or older and sign a waiver to get it. Dorson says that’s still not enough.

“So they still give away hundreds of all these animals, some may work out, the majority don’t. We know that because we see them in city parks, the vets tell us it’s not working out, and the parents are sometimes unhappy. So why even take that risk, why gamble maybe a 5% success rate and a 95% failure rate? And who fails? The animals suffer. So why even have this controversy? Just end it and we’ll all be happy,” Dorson said.

We reached out to the Livingston Parish Fair Board and have not heard a response. The Humane Society of Louisiana says they plan to do a yearlong campaign and boycott until they see a commitment to stopping the practice in writing.

The Greater Baton Rouge Fair Board told us they put it in the contract five years ago that they do not condone giving out rabbits as prizes, as they say, it is not the right image for a family fair.

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