PETA is demanding that Major League Baseball to retire the term “bullpen” and use “arm barn” instead. The animal rights group says “bullpen” mocks the misery of animals and devalues players.
In baseball, a bullpen refers to both the group of relief pitchers and the physical area where the pitchers warm up. To make the point, PETA Twitter account has at least temporarily changed its name to Arm Barn.
PETA says that cows and bulls are typically held in bullpens before they are “hung upside down and their throats are slit in the meat industry” and “tormented into kicking and bucking by being electro-shocked or prodded.”
“Bullpen” refers to the area of a “bull’s pen” where bulls are held before they are slaughtered—it’s a word with speciesist roots & we can do better than that.
Switching to “arm barn” would be a home run for baseball fans, players, and animals 💪⚾️ pic.twitter.com/2FzSpDG9mQ
— Arm Barn (@peta) October 28, 2021
“Words matter, and baseball ‘bullpens’ devalue talented players and mock the misery of sensitive animals,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a news release.
“PETA encourages Major League Baseball coaches, announcers, players, and fans to changeup their language and embrace the ‘arm barn’ instead.” This is happening as the World Series is being played and MLB is facing continuing controversy over Atlanta Braves’ fans doing the “Tomahawk chop,” which has received criticism from Native American tribes. READ MORE
