You Can Bet Whether PETA Will Interrupt a Contestant at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

By Dylan Bowker in Entertainment
Updated: March 30, 2020 at 2:13 pm EDTPublished:

- Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place on Thursday, July 4th, at 10:30 AM ET
- Will PETA attack competitive eaters on Independence Day?
- The odds at online sportsbooks say that it’s a longshot
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place in Brooklyn, New York on the 4th of July. Questions abound ahead of this gathering of gluttony: Will Joey Chestnut continue to assert his dominance? Will there be an upset a la Matt Stonie in 2015?
One thing that’s equally as pervasive as Chestnut’s dominance is PETA’s hatred for the annual hot-dog eating contest. PETA and Nathan’s go together like peanut butter and gasoline.
The animal rights group doesn’t exactly look upon this event favorably and have made that known for years. Will PETA crash Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and interrupt this great American competition? Check out the odds and my prediction below.
PETA and Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Odds
PETA Will Interrupt a Contestant at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest | Odds |
---|---|
Yes | +700 |
No | -1600 |
*Odds taken on 06/26/2019.
In the past, it looked as if PETA had a hand in causing a ruckus at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. But, after the fact, PETA claimed that they had no direct involvement with the incident outlined below.
Here's the video of the PETA attack, probably would have hit 80 Hot Dogs without that lost time #JustSaying pic.twitter.com/iy27TW57VF
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) July 4, 2016
Other animal rights groups have protested and there’s a well-documented history of their behavior. PETA and Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest haven’t been altogether separate from each other, though. The legit PETA protesters have, in past, generally favored a more peaceful form of protest. Someone who’s a direct PETA rep would be more inclined to hold up a handmade sign rather than interject themselves into the proceedings.
PETA has also sent an activist dressed as Uncle Sam to Coney Island to pass out vegetarian hot dogs near the eating contest.
Even if a PETA supporter were to do something, PETA could absolve themselves of all culpability because the person isn’t internally involved with the group. It creates a strange grey area whereby supporters of this eating contest claim any protesters are PETA by virtue of that group having the highest profile.
Conversely, PETA has the benefit of washing their hands of it and claiming it’s another animal rights group or a misguided PETA supporter.
I feel like someone will interrupt Joey Chestnut polishing off 80 dogs but I don’t think it will be PETA.
Pick: No (-1600)

Sports Writer
A part-time writer and full-time broadcaster, Dylan has hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, and covered some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage.