Wicklow's annual Arklow Seabreeze Festival has been attracting attention for all the wrong reasons this week.
A petition to stop a pig race that has been part of the festival for 24 years has attracted nearly 2,000 signatures
Animal Rights Activist Ciara Fitzgerald – who started the petition - says she is concerned about the welfare of the animals involved. But fans of the event did not appreciate her campaign to cancel the race and she has been on the receiving end of bitter abuse on social media.
Ciara outlined her concerns on Newstalk's Pat Kenny show:
Ciara said she has been branded a fool, a gobsh**e, a pig, a vegan and a hippie by Facebook trolls. She said the abuse she had received had left her shaken and deeply upset:
The animal lover reacted on Twitter after what she described as an 'exhausting' and 'awful' week.
How apt for me today. https://t.co/FbxipKjRtu
— Ciara Fitzgerald (@Kilts4me) July 13, 2015
I love how some people are angrier at the people who inform them about animal torture than the people doing the animal torture.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 12, 2015
But Ciara's petition has also won support, with some 1,931 signatures at present.
Pamela Reddin from Kildare wrote on Change.org, 'I'm signing this because I am from Arklow and I know what the Seabreeze festival involves, it's outdated and cruel, it's time to end it'.
Image via: Arklow's Seabreeze Festival
Organisers have confirmed that the race will still go ahead on the town's Main St at 4 o'clock on Sunday July 19th, something Ciara says she is very disappointed about.
Justice doesnt always win. The right side can lose. Today I lost a good fight. Arklow remains in the dark ages. Im sorry piggies x #fail
— Ciara Fitzgerald (@Kilts4me) July 16, 2015
Fianna Fáil Councillor Tommy Annesley, who is also a member of the festival committee, claims the five animals are well cared for and enjoy a good life with a local farmer.
Arklow isn't the only place you'll find pig racing in Ireland. Newstalk has learned events are also held in Cahir, Co. Tipperary; in Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan; in Athlone, Co. Westmeath; in Kilkenny city and at Kilmihill in west Co. Clare.
Meanwhile, sheep racing events are help on the Curragh in Co. Kildare, and in Leghowney in Donegal.
