A SoCal Bar Has Been Staging Turtle Races For Years. Activists Say It's Time To Stop

Pub lore has it that the original owner of Brennan's in Marina Del Rey introduced turtle races in 1975 on pure whim to draw a crowd.

Decades later, the races remain a top attraction, taking place every other Thursday to the roar of patrons cheering on their favorite red-eared slider as an announcer shouts live commentary.

But activists say with the 50-year anniversary of the races approaching, it's high time for Brennan's to stop exploiting the reptiles and permanently retire them to their built-in habitat at the bar.

"We really feel that 49 years is enough," said Alexandra Paul, the former Baywatch star and animal rights activist. "It would be wonderful if Brennan's decided to stop this really outdated form of entertainment for humans."

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Red-eared slider turtles are the species used in races held at Brennan's.

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Noel Celis

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AFP

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About the effort to stop the races

Paul is among the nearly 12,000 people who've signed onto a campaign to stop the races, organized by the nonprofit In Defense Of Animals. The group has held two protests so far this year, with demonstrators chanting outside of the bar "entertainment is no excuse for animal abuse" and "turtles aren't meant to race, they deserve a natural place."

But Brennan's has no plans to drop the contests.

In a written statement to LAist, the owners — part of the restaurant group Artisanal Brewers Collective — maintain that the turtles are "thriving" under the care of a certified veterinary technician on staff. They report that on race nights, the turtles are never out of their habitats for more than about 10 minutes.

"None of them are required to race, as sometimes they prefer to nap or socialize while the others compete," the owners wrote.

Meanwhile, the "bets" that patrons place on turtles are raising as much as $30,000 per year to go toward "good causes" such as fighting homelessness.

That's no excuse, says Brittany Michelson, who is running the In Defense of Animals campaign.

"It's great that they're raising money for charity, but it shouldn't be at the expense of animals who are being used against their will," said Michelson, who also runs a small sanctuary for turtles and tortoises in Tucson.

Videos of the races posted online show Brennan's staff holding turtles wrapped in brightly-colored bands high up for the crowd to see before setting them down in the middle of a circle. The winner is the first turtle to emerge from the circle.

What's next

Michelson said that there's been no communication with the bar owners outside of their initial response to a letter sent by In Defense of Animals last September calling for an end to the races — which the owners rejected while defending their care of the turtles.

Brennan's is far from alone in holding turtle races. These competitions are advertised at bars and restaurants around the country, in cities such as Chicago and Houston, and are often held at county fairs. In Defense of Animals said they may expand their campaign to other locations but is now focused on Brennan's after a local resident alerted the group to its turtle contests.

Paul, who's blasted the turtle races in an opinion piece co-written with a turtle biologist from Sonoma State University, said it was her friend who first notified In Defense of Animals of Brennan's. When Paul first joined the campaign to stop the races, it was because, intellectually, it felt like the right thing to do. She wasn't particularly fond of turtles.

"They're not usually pets and when they are they're not that cuddly," Paul said. "They don't have expressions on their face. So people regard them as sort of being without feelings."

What she's discovered through her work on the campaign is that turtles are sentient with stress responses, likes and dislikes — creatures that should receive the same humane treatment afforded dogs and cats.

As for Brennan's owners, they note that "non-human neighbors on Earth" are a priority for them too.

They recounted how they had to bring the turtles back to health when they bought the bar seven years ago, building them a new habitat with "room to swim, sunbathe, and live the good life."

That project, they said, was in keeping with their commitment to animals which includes offering vegan menu options and donating to animal welfare organizations.