Illinois County Fair Ignores Protests Over Monkey Event

GRAYSLAKE, Ill. (AP) – A county fair in northern Illinois says it will go ahead with an event featuring monkeys riding dogs around a racetrack despite protests from groups concerned about the welfare of the animals.
The Lake County Fair has held the event, known as the Banana Derby, for five years.
Fair President Jon Brodzik Jr. says they take animal welfare seriously, have never had an incident and see no compelling reason to cancel the popular attraction.

The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports that letters of protest have come from county board members, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo and the Chicago Zoological Society, which operates the Brookfield Zoo.

The letters urge fair officials not to subject the capuchin monkeys to what they call stressful conditions and exploitation “for a few cheap laughs.”

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