With less than two months to go before the Durham Fair opens, fair organizers find themselves dealing with a controversy of large proportion.
A petition calling on the Durham Fair Association to stop its scheduled Elephant Encounters act was closing in on 1,000 signatures as of Sunday night, just three days after it was launched on the website change.org in response to the fair's announcement that the elephants would be added to this year's fair.
"The Fair should be about highlighting the good things that happen in our community- not encouraging the maltreatment of animals for entertainment," Durham resident Katy Reddick wrote in signing the petition on Sunday.
Criticism has been sharp over the fair association's decision to hire Bill Morris, the owner of the travelling Elephant Encounter show. Morris has fought accusations of animal cruelty in the past.
The fair released a statement on Friday saying in part, "... we have been in contact with the owners of these animals and are convinced that they regard these animals as we regard our own pets. Again, our intent here was purely for the educational aspects of having this rare experience of witnessing these awesome animals in a controlled environment."
Social media sites have also been spawned over the controversy.
A Facebook page dedicated to canceling the show had 121 Likes as of Sunday evening and a Twitter page created in Cambridge, Mass. had 15 followers.
This year's Durham Fair will take place from September 26-29.
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