The animal rights group claimed „bullpen“ is a reference to where bulls are held before they are slaughtered.
As the World Series heads into Game 3 on Friday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is using the added attention to baseball to call for the removal of the word „bullpen“ from the sport’s vocabulary. In a Thursday statement, the animal rights group said the term „references the holding area where terrified bulls are kept before slaughter.“ PETA even offered up the „more modern, animal-friendly term“ of „arm barn.“ „Words matter, and baseball ‚bullpens‘ devalue talented players and mock the misery of sensitive animals,“ PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in the statement. „PETA encourages Major League Baseball coaches, announcers, players, and fans to change up their language and embrace the ‚arm barn‘ instead.“ PETA wrote in its statement that the term „bullpen“ is used in the meat industry, and it’s an area where „cows are hung upside down and their throats are slit“ before they are processed into food products.
