By Hannah W. Wever

Published: May 1, 2008

To the editor,
One thing about life, you can’t please everyone—that’s for sure.
The letters to the editor referencing cruelty to the donkeys in the recent donkey basketball game held at the Orange County High School Fieldhouse is somewhat concerning. The people doing the complaining obviously were not there.
I attended the game with my two young children and just guessing, probably another 400 people. We found it to be very entertaining and they even offered rides to the children at intermission. While there, I didn’t see the first donkey fight to its death as it was compared to the Michael Vick ordeal in one of the letters, nor did I see any of the animals strung up, whipped or shocked, and they certainly didn’t appear to be malnourished; they were simply ridden and for some, attempted to be ridden from one end of the court to the other with several breaks in between.
I’m sure it’s a better life than pulling a plow in the field or being packed down with gear and pulled for miles in the hot sun.
What about horse racing? Is that cruel? To whip a horse as they are barreling down a track as fast as they can go for ½ mile or more, that seems to be publicly acceptable. I guess it’s all about perception.
In closing I certainly hope the negative responders to the game are vegetarians; if not, a visit to one of the many slaughterhouses will definitely give them something to write about!
Gary Coppa
Orange