Local Fianna Fail Councillor Defends Pig Races At Arklow Seabreeze Festival

Animal rights campaigners say the annual Pig Derby is a cruel practice that should be consigned to the history books.

Councillor for Arklow Tommy Annesley, who is one of the organisers says the pigs come to no harm.

Chair of Pig Health and Welfare with the IFA, Shane McAuliffe says there is a major concern about the spread of African Swine Fever, expressing surprise that a pig farmer provided the animals for the event in Arklow.

Nearly 12 thousand people have signed a petition calling for the pig race in the County Wicklow town to be stopped on the 21st July. 

The petition describes the event as 'cruel' and states that animal abuse is not okay. 

2 euro bets are taken on the five pigs who race each other in 30 metre tracks. 

The event has featured at the festival for a number of years with the money gambled on the animals going to fund the occasion.