A game of donkey basketball has been canceled at Park Hill South High School after student backlash.
"I like all animals and I thought that any animal in this position, that's not fair,” said Park Hill South junior Morgan Kaminska.
After she saw a sign advertising donkey basketball for a school fundraisers, she was immediately upset.
"They're put in an arena with a bunch of, like, they are all smushed together, they're nervous and it's like humans wouldn't want to be in that position, why put a little animal in it?” said Morgan.
Morgan’s mother Jill Kaminska also had concerns.
"I'm sure that they don't want to harm their donkey except I think it's a big liability for schools or any other arena to have this type of thing with inexperienced people around on an animal like that,” said Jill Kaminska.
WATCH: See what a game of donkey basketball looks like in the video below.
According to Dairyland Donkey Ball, the original host of the event, the donkeys are safe. They say there is no dribbling in the game, and they keep an eye on the students and donkeys.
Veterinarian Jeff Schlager says there is the potential for animal abuse. It all depends on how the owners treat the animals. He says there could be problems if the students are too big for the donkeys.
"The biggest issue with this is what are the rules any time there is an animal involved how are they handled, what are the guidelines and how do we control the people handling those animals,” said Schlager.
Students hope this will send a message to other schools.
"If we get this canceled, well we did get this canceled, and they can see that we actually care,” said Park Hill South junior Ian Hallowell.
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Ali Hoxie can be reached at ali.hoxie@kshb.com
