A carnival booth giving away live rabbits as prizes was shut down this week at the Red River Valley Fair in West Fargo, N.D.
Fair officials apologized after booting the independent contractor's booth on Tuesday, just hours after it opened.
"Since the discovery, the rabbits have been relocated and are no longer being used as prizes to the public," read the written apology posted on the fair's Facebook page. "We did not have knowledge of this giveaway, and we do not condone animals being used as prizes, as we hold high standards for all live animals."
Bryan Schulz, the fair's general manager, said Thursday that the Red River Valley Fair contracts with Murphy Brothers Exposition based in Tulsa, Okla., to help stage the fair. The carnival booth giving away rabbits was run by an independent contractor that Murphy Brothers brings to the fair, Schulz said.
State law prohibits giving away live animals, such as rabbits, goldfish and hermit crabs, as prizes, he said.
Social media posts about the bunny prizes spurred anger.
"So sad to see the red river valley fair giving away rabbits like it's nothing. … It's one thing to give away fish but rabbits," said one post. "THIS IS ANIMAL ABUSE, it was 90+ degrees today and there were no fans on them, dirty water, and they looked malnourished."
Fair officials said they learned late Tuesday that rabbits were being awarded as prizes and immediately shut down the booth.
Schulz said by the time he arrived at the fair, the rabbits were gone and he couldn't speak to the condition of the rabbits. He was told the vendor bought the rabbits from a Craigslist post.
The fair has animals on the grounds but they are there for the "public to see, learn about and encounter through our well-cared-for animal attractions," the apology said. "This incident does not reflect on our views and policies of animal treatment."
Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788
