And Somewhere, Fred Smoot Sheds A Tear

The country is England, the sport is "Conger Cuddling," and the athlete pictured here is pointing his ... wait a minute ... no! His eel! He's preparing to toss an eel! You people are disgusting sometimes.

It is with a heavy heart that we report the news from the tiny village of Lyme Regis, where the age-old activity of flinging an eel for charity has been forever banned. For details, we take you to the Daily Telegraph:

A charity skittles game — in which humans are the pins and the ball is a dead conger eel tied to a rope — has been banned after animal rights activists complained that it was disrespectful to eels. During the event, a number of people stand on blocks of wood and have to dodge a 150cm/5' long Conger eel, swinging at them on a rope. The team who has the most members still on their flowerpots at the end of the game wins.

Like we had to explain the rules to you.

Evidently this is a trend, as it appears now to be illegal to chuck an eel throughout most of Europe. Yet in Russia, they are still allowed to do this. (And yes, we know this story is a bit old. Eel news from Europe typically takes longer to get to us than regular news).

After the jump, a related activity which is, to our knowledge, still completely legal everywhere.

Gentlemen, Please Let Go Of Your Eels: Conger Cuddling Banned [Fringe Sports Central] Conger Cuddling Cancelled [Practical Fishkeeping]