LOS ANGELES (Sept. 10, 2024) — Brennan’s bar in Marina del Rey has doubled down on its inhumane turtle races, increasing them from bimonthly to weekly, despite strong opposition from animal organizations, reptile experts and celebrities, including two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stars and a former Baywatch actor. 

Animal rights advocates are condemning an increase in the frequency of turtle racing at Brennan's, despite the bar management's repeated pledges to decrease the practice on the advice of veterinarians. The racing, which had been held twice monthly to the shouts and screams of boisterous bar patrons, is now held weekly.

Through an In Defense of Animals’ alert, over 12,000 animal defenders contacted Brennan's and Artisanal Brewers Collective, asking for the end of the turtle races and urging the company to replace them with an alternate activity that does not involve animals.

When owners Tony Yarow and Artisanal Brewers Collective bought the bar in 2016, the company vowed to implement "reduced racing hours," according to Eater LA, which listed the racing as once monthly. 

Similarly, Brennan's manager Sean Phagan responded to an emailed complaint from In Defense of Animals about the practice, stating“When our company purchased Brennan's in 2016, we worked with local veterinarians and animal welfare groups to figure out how best to provide for the turtles,” and “in keeping with the advice of those organizations…greatly reduced the number of races, to give the turtles more time to rest after each adventure….”

However, Brennan's has chosen to ignore the advice it sought out, and In Defense of Animals is planning additional protests against the exploitation.  

 “The fact that Brennan’s has added more animal exploitation to their schedule is unacceptable” said Brittany Michelson, Campaign Specialist for Captive Animals at In Defense of Animals and founder of Desert Oasis Turtle & Tortoise Sanctuary. “It’s long past time for Brennan’s to make the progressive and compassionate change and end turtle racing entirely.” 

“In 2024, we know that racing turtles is so last century,” said actress and animal rights activist Alexandra Paul. “The fact that Brennan’s is doubling the number of races when management has stated it understands how hard the events are on the turtles is confounding. Brennan’s needs to replace its racing with other activities instead of subjecting innocent turtles to such stress just so they can make money. Karaoke, trivia and comedy nights  will all attract patrons, without the stench of exploitation.”   

Actor Greg Cipes from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series has raised his voice against the races: “I am really disheartened to learn that Brennan’s bar in Los Angeles has added more turtle races to their monthly schedule. Using turtles for racing is not an acceptable form of entertainment. Instead of holding weekly races, I urge Brennan’s to replace their harmful ‘tradition’ with something that doesn’t involve animals.”

Nicholas Geist, a professor of biology and turtle biologist at Sonoma State University, called the races “inhumane” and deleterious to the turtles’ health, noting that Brennan's turtles would interpret being surrounded by gesticulating, screaming, likely inebriated humans as a lethal threat, evoking in them a flood of stress hormones, a physiological response that has well documented deleterious effects on turtles’ immune systems, growth and reproductive function.

Since 1975, Brennan’s has been exploiting turtles for entertainment and profit by holding races. A boisterous crowd shouts and screams at turtles as rowdy customers bet on a winner while an emcee directs the event over a speaker. The overwhelming setting is stressful for turtles. Reptile experts have called this environment inhumane, raising serious concerns about the short-term and long-term health consequences of chronic fear and stress for these sensitive animals. 

Brennan's website states that turtle racing is the “real sport of kings,” but animal exploitation is nothing to boast about. The bar also refers to the turtle races as a tradition, but there is no justification for perpetuating animal cruelty. Traditions that abuse non-consenting animals for entertainment and profit must end. 

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IMAGES: https://bit.ly/BrennansTurtPix

CONTACT: In Defense of Animals, Brittany Michelson, brittany@idausa.org, 928-420-0727

In Defense of Animals is an international animal rescue and protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 40-year history of defending animals, the environment, and their guardians through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, rural Mississippi, and California. www.idausa.org

Los Angeles for Animals and Los Angeles Animal Defense League are grassroots groups that organize animal rights demonstrations. LAFA is currently working hard on the Free Billy the elephant campaign at the Los Angeles Zoo and ADL is mainly focused on anti-fur campaigns.