Petition to ban “Pig Rodeo” in Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture

It’s been decided that the pig rodeo will be discontinued in 2017.
http://www.arcj.org/animals/sacrifice/00/id=884

What is Pig Rodeo?

The event called ;Okuchi no Umi Carnival; in the town of Mikame, Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture, is where the Pig Rodeo takes place.
The ;Pig Rodeo; is a contest consisting of people getting on the back of a pig and riding it as long as possible.
This event has been held for more than 25 years with 10 pigs being used in the 2015 event.
• The unwilling pigs squeal
• They develop red, swollen necks and struggle to breathe
• Some pigs stumble or are unable to walk, others drag their feet
These are comments from people who have seen the Rodeo; up close.

In 2015 we submitted this petition to the organizers of the Carnival, but the Pig Rodeo; wasn’t stopped.

The rodeo is a form of animal abuse
When we submitted this petition to the executive committee in 2015, their opinion was that “We do not believe the Pig Rodeo to be animal abuse;.

http://www.arcj.org/animals/sacrifice/00/id=585　(Japanese only)

“Animal abuse; consists of inflicting external wounds, causing distress, using violence, psychological oppression, instilling fear and exploiting animals, among other abuses. According to the Ministry of the Environment, whether animal abuse takes place or not “is decided based on the physical and mental state of the animal and the state of the surroundings it’s being kept in;.

A video from “Pig Rodeo; in Mikame, Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture (courtesy of Asahi News Paper):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZof9PSEB7k

We, the Animal Rights Center, believe that the “Pig Rodeo; is animal abuse. We also believe that it not only violates national laws, but it also contradicts international guidelines for animal welfare called “The Five Freedoms.; Thereof 2 are being violated, namely “freedom from physical pain; and “freedom from fear and distress;.

The Seiyo City’s Wikipedia page states the following under the section “The Pig Rodeo problem;:
This is what Seiyo City Society of Commerce and Industry, which manages the event’s Executive Committee, says about the excessively screaming and raging pigs: The riders, the spectators, it all gets mixed up into one indistinguishable burst of laughter;.

The Law for the Humane Treatment and Management of Animals states the following: “In recognition of the fact that animals are living beings, all people are required not only to refrain from killing, injuring, and inflicting cruelty upon animals, but also treat animals properly while taking the need for symbiosis between people and animals and the natural habits of animals into account.

Could the Pig Rodeo, the watching of unwilling pigs while the crowd laughs, be said to involve the consideration of animals as living beings?
Are they not suffering in vain?
Is this supposed to be an example of the coexistence of humans and animals?

The issue of use of animals for entertainment

Internationally, more and more people are becoming critical about the use of animals for entertainment.
More than 30 countries have already banned or regulated the use of animals in circuses. The so-called ;tradition; of bullfighting has also been banned in some parts of Spain, and in 2015 Costa Rica decided to close down public zoos. 13 countries have made it illegal to breed dolphins in aquariums, and in 2015, India announced that it will ban dolphin shows. When the city of Istanbul in Turkey abolished dolphin aquariums, the mayor justified it with the words. We shouldn’t have entertainment that preys on animals.
As for rodeos (rodeos, in general, not the pig rodeos), they are banned in Vancouver, Canada, North Vancouver district in Canada, England, Australian Capital Territory in Australia, and at least 5 jurisdictions in the US.