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Yard Goats cancel monkey rodeo show after complaints made

The event was cancelled after an outcry on social media.
Monkey rodeo

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) — A type of rodeo event coming to the Yard Goats stadium was quickly canceled after it turned into a firestorm on social media.

The event was called The Cowboy- Rodeo Monkey Show, which showcases monkeys acting as cowboys riding dogs.

The Yard Goats posted the event on Facebook about a week ago and since then hundreds of people have been sounding off urging them to cancel the event.

On Monday, they canceled it.

“People in Connecticut love animals, they care about animal welfare and this is not the type of entertainment that our state appreciates,” said Susan Linker, of Our Companions Animal Rescue.

Linker said she was outraged when she saw the event was scheduled at the Yard Goats stadium in Hartford this summer.

“At first when I googled it, I thought it was a joke. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening and when I looked at it further indeed it was a thing and coming here to Hartford,” Linker said.

The Cowboy- Rodeo Monkey Show is popular at rodeos and at minor league baseball games around the country.

The monkey sits on the dogs as they chase rams.

Many people shared their concerns on social media, some saying they’re reaching out to the Yard Goats themselves.

On Monday, the Yard Goat’s management canceled the event and sent an email to Linker that said “I wanted to let you that today the Cowboy- Rodeo Monkey Show was canceled. They will no longer be coming to the ballpark, and never will.”

Meanwhile, the Yard Goats confirmed that the show was canceled but won’t answer any further questions.

Linker says making their voices heard made an impact.

“I’m so happy when I saw the email this morning that it was canceled. I really appreciate they acted so decisively that they listened to the public,” Linker said. “The management there responded so that shows a tremendous amount of integrity and really great to see some Yard Goat’s games and feeling good about it,” Linker said.

The Yard Goats didn’t release the name of the company that was supposed to bring the show to Hartford.

Channel 3 found a few companies that do this and while there has been some protests, they are popular in some cities including Kansas City, Missouri and Wilmington, Delaware.

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