PETA calls Six Flags cockroach eating contest 'gratuitously cruel'

Posted by: "Trisha R" Taliesson@hotmail.com   speciesism_will_end

Tue Sep 26, 2006
 PETA calls Six Flags cockroach eating contest 'gratuitously cruel'
 http://tinyurl.com/kzjhd



DENVER - Animal rights activists are upset with a Halloween-themed cockroach-eating promotion organized by Six Flags Great America.

A spokeswoman for the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called the contest "gratuitously cruel."

Six Flags Elitch Gardens plans on participating in the contest which is called Eat-Your-Way-To-The-Top and is due to start in October. The contest is part of Six Flags' Halloween promotion, FrightFest.

As part of the promotion, anyone who eats a live Madagascar hissing cockroach wins front-of-the-line privileges to the park's haunted houses.

On average, the bugs are up to three inches in length.

Great American spokesman Jim Taylor defended the promotion saying the bugs are nutritious, high in protein and fat free.