Pig chase draws squeals from animal-rights activists

WOODSIDE, Calif. -- The annual Fourth of July "pig scramble" in this California town, where young kids are let loose to try and capture baby pigs, has been a tradition for more than 40 years.

Animal-rights activists say the event is traumatic for the animals, and not so great for the children either, CBS San Francisco reports.

"The pigs are terrified -- squealing, screaming, running in all directions. Those children are predators," said Jennifer Gonzales with the Committee for Humane Woodside.

At Tuesday's event, about 25 people showed up to protest the scramble.

"The pigs, they can have broken bones. They can have dislocated joints," Gonzales said.

Victor Aenlle with the San Mateo County Mounted Patrol, which puts on the rodeo, says there's nothing cruel involved.

"We have vets on call … a hospital standing by -- there's never been an incident of pigs being hurt on our property," Aenlle said.

"I understand their point of view but we have ours," he added. "We've been doing this a long time. We're not breaking any laws. We're on private property. We don't want anybody coming here and pushing us and telling us what to do and what not to do. Everybody has a right to choose."

Aenlle told CBS San Francisco in March that the baby pigs in the event are sold within a week for slaughter, scramble or not.