SPENCER, Mass. (AP) – A popular traveling show that features racing pigs drew opposition from a national animal rights group when it performed at the Spencer Fair.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has filed a complaint with the Spencer Police Department against Robinson’s Racing Pigs and Paddling Porkers, accusing it of animal cruelty, The Boston Globe reported Sunday.

But law enforcement officials declined to cancel the show.

The controversial part of the races, promoted by a Tampa, Fla. couple, features pigs with names like “Hog Hogan” and “Elvis Pigsley” racing around a small track and swimming in a 2-foot-deep tank. Waiting at the finish line is a reward of food pellets or an Oreo cookie.

“It still amazes me the ways people find to exploit animals for just a laugh or to line their pockets,” PETA animals and entertainment specialist Amy Rhodes said.

Instead of stopping the races, however, the PETA protest gave the show more publicity, attracting its largest-ever crowd on Saturday. And that sits well with promoters Mike and Kathy Warren.

“They end up complaining about it, and it increases my business,” Warren said.

A law enforcement officer from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who reviewed the complaint earlier in the week found no reason to cancel the show.

Rhodes said the law enforcement official didn’t get to see the “food deprivation or electric shock or beatings” used to train them.

The fair’s organizer said it would not feature the pig races if it had concerns.

The Warrens defended their show, saying they treat the pigs like their own children.

“I love animals,” Kathy Warren told the Globe. “If I thought this was hurting them, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

AP-ES-08-31-03 1036EDT

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