Donkey basketball
Encyclopedia
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, played on a standard basketball court, but in which the players ride donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
s. A donkey basketball game is usually staged as a one-shot fundraising event, typically in public schools. Commercial firms provide donkeys and equipment, splitting the proceeds with the hiring party. Donkey basketball has been practiced in the United States since the 1930s.
Donkey basketball has been targeted by animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
groups who claim that the sport is cruel to animals
Cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...
due to the inexperience of participants with handling the donkeys. Promoters counter that the events are supervised and the animals are treated humanely.