Pictured: The donkey basketball games causing outrage among animal welfare groups

Updated: 04:29 EDT, 7 May 2009

These shocking images show people playing 'donkey basketball'.

Animal rights groups have spoken of their outrage over the sport, which is popular in midwest America.

The game, in which people mount the animals to shoot hoops was invented in the 1930s as affordable Depression-era entertainment.

But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says the donkeys are mistreated by participants and handlers.

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Outraged: Animal welfare groups have spoken of their horror at donkey basketball games. Here, during one such event in Iowa, a player tries to pull her donkey as she goes for a ball, while another falls off his mount

Nonetheless the sport appears to be thriving in south-central Iowa, where these images were taken.

Held in the Moravia high school gym, 600 of the 680 farm town's residents are present for the charity fundraiser hosted by Ohio-based Buckeye Donkey Ball.

Kenny Schappacher, who works for the company said: 'My favourite area is the Midwest.

'Some of these towns, there just ain't nothing to do. When you come to a town like this, it's just really good. Everyone has a good time.'

Desiree Acholla, PETA's animals-in-entertainment specialist, said the games are cruel because the donkeys get confused in the chaotic atmosphere of the gym.

She said she receives reports of donkeys getting punched and kicked by inexperienced riders, and the animals' backs are stressed by having to carry more than 45kg.

She also said it's common for operators to withhold food and water so the donkeys don't defecate or urinate during games.

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PETA says the games are cruel because the donkeys get confused in the chaotic atmosphere of the gym, and the weight of the people puts strain on the animals' backs

While some districts have bowed to pressure from animal welfare campaigners and banned donkey basketball matches, the town of Moravia has paid little heed.

Event organiser Angela Stufflebeam said: 'We're just a bunch of good ol' boys and farmers down here in rural Iowa, so we're not too worried about PETA.'

'I'm more worried about the guys on the donkeys,' she added, revealing that her daughter Shelby had broken her collarbone after her donkey threw her a couple minutes into a game.

Participants sign medical waivers promising to take no legal action against the donkey basketball operator if they get hurt.

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Entertainment: A player laughs after falling off his mount during a donkey basketball game

Before the game starts, an announcer reads a statement claiming the donkeys are treated humanely and that their hooves are fitted with rubber shoes so the floor won't be scuffed.

Donkey basketball is played four players to a team, often with local celebrities or school staff.

Players wear helmets but no other padding, and attempt to manoevre donkeys around the court during the 16-minute game. A player isn't allowed to shoot unless they are seated on a donkey.

The animals are prone to bucking and ducking, causing riders to slide off. Sometimes, the donkey will just lie down.

Players are allowed to dismount and pull a stubborn donkey by its lead.

Mr Schappacher, who has been involved with the game since 1976, said he puts on five to seven donkey basketball events each week during the peak October-to-May school fundraising season.

he said: 'Everybody thinks they starve them donkeys so they don't poop on the floor. You see how fat they are. They don't miss any meals. We give them good hay and we take real good care of them, make sure they're not abused.

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Donkey breeder Crystal Ward said standard-sized donkeys can carry at least 68kg of 'live weight' with no problem, but said many of the donkey basketball game participants weigh significantly more

'There are a lot of people out there who don't like donkey ball, but they're usually city folks who ain't never been around any animals before.

'This is just good old fun riding a bunch of donkeys. If these donkeys weren't doing this, they would probably be in a dog-food can somewhere.'

Crystal Ward, who has been breeding and training donkeys for 30 years in California, said a donkey isn't harmed if pulled by a halter and lead rope instead of a bridle and bit.

She said standard-sized donkeys can carry at least 68kg of 'live weight' with no problem, though she acknowledges that many of the donkey basketball game participants weigh significantly more.

Donkeys, inch for inch, are able to bear more weight than horses, she said. 'Overall, I don't see any huge red flags with donkey basketball.'

Ms Ward likened the donkeys' fear of a handler's stick to a racehorse responding to a jockey's whip. She told how equine animals often are zapped with electrical devices in training and that the practice, though considered inhumane by some, is generally accepted.

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While many US school districts have banned the sport, Iowa farm town Moravia has paid little heed to animal rights campaigners, using the sport as a fundraising event

Moravia High School student Kelsey Flattery, who played in one of the games, told how Mr Schappacher instructed participants not to strike the donkeys or pull on their ears, hair or tails. A misbehaving player gets one warning before they are excluded from the game.

He said: 'As long as we're not being cruel to them, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Isn't it just the same as riding a horse?'

Schools in Portland, Oregon have already banned donkey basketball, as have school districts in Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In March, a donkey basketball game due to take place in Kuna, Idaho, was cancelled after mechanic Josh Maus started a petition.

'There are better fundraising alternatives to donkey basketball that don't use animals but are designed so that everyone can participate,' he said.

Bruce Wick of Washington state-based Donkey Sports, which was due to run the Kuna event, said it was the first time an event had been cancelled. Mr Wick said his business still hosts about 150 donkey games a year.

'We never really gave PETA much mind,' he said. 'Usually when they fuss about a game, it brings more people to watch.'