"Farmers are struggling," he said. "My friend in Pennsylvania added this to his summertime activities and has had great success. The community and church support it, even the Boy Scouts. They draw unbelievable crowds."
Dabkowski placed video from similar events on the Spring Meadow Farms Web site, but many were a far cry from what he staged yesterday. Some involved contestants corralling pigs and placing them in huge barrels. Often the barrels tipped over with the pigs in them.
"We're not doing the barrel, and I probably shouldn't have put that video up, but it was the only one I could find," said Dabkowski, who said he plans to sell the pigs after the contests end. "Some farms in the Midwest that feature it get too risque and too colorful, but we're a very conservative group here.
"We're always looking for something that is wholesome and for the family, so there will be no alcohol, no foul language," he added. "Hopefully, it will generate some extra money for me, and then I might be able to hire more people."
When members of the Norfolk, Va., chapter of PETA got word about the Upperco show, they immediately objected. They said they wrote Dabkowski, warning him about the dangers of such events and how animals at similar shows have had limbs broken.
"Pig chase and wresting events are explicitly banned in San Francisco, Gainesville, Fla., and Takoma Park," said Desiree Acholla, animals-in-entertainment specialist for PETA. "Many other municipalities have similar laws to the law in [Baltimore County] that outlaw combat between animals and humans, which authorities may interpret as banning pig chasing and wrestling events."
The event began without disruption, however. Dabkowski said that PETA had contacted him yesterday and asked him not to stage the event. Asked whether he felt the showing would silence detractors and enable him to continue staging the event, Dabkowski said, "Well, it's really going to be up to the county animal-control folks and the decisions they make."
