The animal rights group (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) released a statement on Thursday, asking for the staging area for MLB relief pitchers to be renamed from “bullpen” to “arm barn” to try to remove what the group feels is a negative connotation to the warm-up area.
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PETA’s full statement:
Baseball has used the term “bullpen” for the past 150 years, with a Cincinnati Enquirer article the first known recorded reference to the area, calling it a “bull-pen.”
“Words matter, and baseball ‘bullpens’ devalue talented players and mock the misery of sensitive animals,’ says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. ‘PETA encourages Major League Baseball coaches, announcers, players, and fans to changeup their language and embrace the ‘arm barn’ instead.’
PETA notes that cows are hung upside down and their throats are slit in the meat industry, while in rodeos, gentle bulls are tormented into kicking and bucking by being electro-shocked or prodded—all are typically held in a ‘bullpen’ while they await their cruel fate.
This isn’t the first time that the group has set its sights on baseball: In 2016, PETA demanded that Minor League Baseball teams stop using monkey rodeos as a method of entertainment during inning breaks.
With the World Series in full swing, we’ll see whether there’s a call to the … barn on a new name. PETA shouldn’t hold its breath, though.
