Ban Donkey-Basket Ball Event from Lake Schools in Millbury, Ohio
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Please click HERE to sign petition
Source | Comment on OC post fromVirginia
I need your help. I have created a petition for my school to Ban this cruel fundraiser also. Here is the link. We have so far 578 signatures. Please, spread the word and sign this important petition. Please post a sensitive comment also if you could. Thank you for caring for animals.
Background
Donkey Basket Ball Show encourages the mocking of people (bullying) and the use of animals for the sake of entertainment (animal cruelty). Schools across the country have have stopped hosting the cruel donkey basketball fundraisers because they want to help nurture kind kids, not bullies.
Donkey Basket Ball brings together Bullying and Abuse. Little children at school age are invited to watch and mock of people and animals that are frightened by the crowd and being physically abused for the sole purpose of entertainment: Pulled, dragged and kicked, one way to the other, by inexperienced riders for 2 hours trying to play basket ball on top of them. We are in the 20th Century, and this is far from expressing a civilized message to our next Generation. Schools are not Circuses. It is time for the Schools to take a serious stance to their role in the community and especially in the values and examples they set for the young minds.
The U.S. National Parent-Teacher Association Congress states, “Children trained to extend justice, kindness, and mercy to animals become more just, kind, and considerate in their [interactions] with each other.”
we are donkeys,
please here our plea,
do not do anything
this cruel to such as
we!
Do not judge us
We are not you
We do what donkey
Were born to do
We are not stubborn
we do not like being
used
we are not tools of man
to be beaten or abused
if you want us to help you
be kind with your request
we will gladly oblige
if you do your best
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Our Compass 
Thanks for posting this Stacey i got a message from Virginia asking me to sign this petition and to share it i signed it and shared it in several places and was even going to ask you to post it lol but you posted it before i even had to ask lol thats why i love you Stacey you are always ten steps ahead of me when it comes to the animals lmao thanks so much Stacey youre the best 😉
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YOU are the best, my dear. Thank you for all YOU do. 🙂
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Thank you, so much. I am sharing this article.
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Thank you, Virginia!
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No thanks needed Virginia im only too happy to help ❤
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we are donkeys,
please here our plea,
do not do anything
this cruel to such as
we!
Do not judge us
We are not you
We do what donkey
Were born to do
We are not stubborn
we do not like being
used
we are not tools of man
to be beaten or abused
if you want us to help you
be kind with your request
we will gladly oblige
if you do your best
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Reblogged this on Ann Novek–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors.
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Thank you, hon.
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Thank you so much for your support in this Petition. I’ll keep you posted.
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Excellent! I appreciate that, thank you so much, Virginia, let me know anytime, either here or send me a note via the Contact Us form, whichever is more convenient.
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Stacey, Do you have information on how cruel are the equine training methods?, specially how donkeys are trained to play basetball. When I spoke to our Principl, he assured he Buckeye Donkey ball company owner explained him that the donkeys are trained,that they have a trainer specifically dedicated to train the donkeys and that they have veterinarians for the Donkeys. I have seen the videos and I have seen there is a man with a stick walking in the court. This man will hit the floor with the stick and it will get the donkeys cooperate. I have spoken to a Wild horse rescue manager and he just told me: Horse training methods are abusive. A Donkey is harder to train than a horse ad he thinks the reason a Donkey cooperates in the game when they hear the stick hit the floor i because the donkey had been countless times beaten with his same stick. I am doing some reasearch about this, but I haven’t had much luck. I can not find material readily avaliable online. The principal also mentioned that they do not have any history of abuse coming from the Buckeye Donkey ball Company so there is not reason to cut ties with a bussiness that is innocent of abuse until some documentcan prove wrong !!! …….. I gt myself on the task to iinvestigate among the onkey experts across US. Please, let me know if you can answer any of these questions. – Virginia Holmes.
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Hi, Virginia, again – thank you SO much for all you are doing. I am not an expert, I received the initial alert from PETA, and this is what they say. (I know that the donkeys are abused to “train” them, all animals are, but I get my information from PETA. Does this help at all? Stacey)
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/donkey-basketball.aspx
It’s hard to believe that something as absurd as “donkey basketball” still exists in this day and age, but sadly, it’s true. During these cruel “games”—which some schools hold as fundraisers—donkeys are dragged, kicked, and punched by participants who have no animal-handling experience. Donkeys are not protected by the federal Animal Welfare Act, and local humane agencies tend to be reluctant to get involved in cruelty cases involving donkeys, since employees typically don’t have any experience working with donkeys or any knowledge about them.
Donkey Basketball ‘Games’ Encourage Kids to Be Cruel
Donkey basketball fundraisers send kids the message that it’s OK to abuse and humiliate those who are weaker than they are. Children who are exposed to animal abuse are taught the dangerous lesson that cruelty is acceptable. After an extensive study of the links between cruelty to animals and human abuse, experts Stephen R. Kellert and Alan R. Felthous concluded, “The evolution of a more gentle and benign relationship in human society might be enhanced by our promotion of a more positive and nurturing ethic between children and animals.”
Schools from coast to coast have stopped hosting cruel donkey basketball fundraisers because they want to help nurture kind kids, not bullies. The U.S. National Parent-Teacher Association Congress states, “Children trained to extend justice, kindness, and mercy to animals become more just, kind, and considerate in their [interactions] with each other.”
Donkey Basketball: A Dangerous Liability for Humans Too
Like many animals, donkeys who are mistreated or forced into loud, confusing environments can become frightened and may lash out to protect themselves. A participant in a Waterloo, Illinois, donkey basketball game was awarded more than $110,000 for injuries that he sustained in a game, and in another game, a Wisconsin state senator fell off a donkey and broke her leg. In February 2006, a fifth-grade teacher in Florida sued the Diocese of St. Petersburg and the owner of the Dixie Donkey Ball company claiming that she had suffered injuries after being thrown off a donkey at a fundraiser.
What You Can Do if You Hear About a Donkey Basketball ‘Game’
There are loads of innovative and humane fundraising opportunities, including dodgeball and rubber-duck derby races. No one has to resort to cruelty to cash in. For example, in Grants Pass, Oregon, three Rotary Clubs grossed $133,000 in rubber-duck derby races. The following are some steps you can take to help put donkey basketball out to pasture:
If you are a student at a school that wants to host donkey basketball, take charge. Students and parents should contact their school district?s superintendent and ask for a policy banning the use of live animals in fundraisers.
Forward this to your friends and family members and encourage them to oppose cruel school fundraisers.
If another local group hosts a “game,” politely voice your objections. Be sure to contact PETA for a supply of leaflets to distribute and write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper opposing the event and explaining how cruel donkey basketball is.
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