Are Unborn Donkeys Worth More Than Live Scorpions?
On Thursday, TMZ reported that NBC's Fear Factor would be forcing its contestants to guzzle beer steins full of donkey urine and donkey semen. (The urine doesn't sound so bad, right?) This raises a whole lot of questions about what reality television is willing to put its contestants through — and what we, as a viewing public, are willing to watch. It's one thing when Andrew Zimmern eats at an all-penis restaurant on Bizarre Foods. This is a horrifying amount of unadulterated donkey jizz.
Yesterday, TMZ followed up their story with a reaction from the American Donkey & Mule Society, a group we just don't hear from enough.
The ADMS President tells us they don't "condone use of the animals in such a manner."
She added, "We feel this is a negative event and was not well thought out by the producers."
"Negative event" is maybe an understatement. But it's still worth looking at our horrified reaction. Part of it is surely that beer stein full of donkey juice — seriously, try to imagine drinking even a little — but is there a weirdly "every sperm is sacred" viewpoint here? While PETA would remind you that they have no official stance on human abortion, they also neglect to address the use of animal semen for purposes other than reproduction. And unlike humans, donkeys aren't just spilling their seed for fun.
But where was the outcry when Fear Factor had its contestants eat live scorpions? This probably has more to do with the gross-out factor than with ethics, but I'll go on record as saying drinking donkey semen is morally superior to eating live scorpions. And I will continue to avoid both activities for reasons of pure disgust.
