Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe CHICAGO, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- An animal rights organization is asking a suburban Chicago amusement park to cancel plans to hold a live cockroach-eating contest next month. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it has been flooded with calls and e-mails protesting the upcoming contest at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Advertisement Last week Six Flags announced that any visitor who ate a live, three-inch Madagascar hissing cockroach at this year's Halloween Fright Fest would receive a pass allowing them to go to the head of the line for any ride in the amusement park. In addition to the free pass offer, Six Flags said it planned to host an open-invitation contest for those who wanted to try to break the Guinness world record for the most baked Madagascar cockroaches eaten in a single minute. The current world record of 36 roaches was set five years ago. "We're asking them to cancel (this) gratuitously cruel practice, which is really just a tired gag from 'Fear Factor,'" says Jackie Vergerio, a PETA spokeswoman.
