Calgary petting zoo owner says he's been threatened over Pride event
The owner of a petting zoo in east Calgary says the tone has changed over one its most popular public adult-only events.
Mike Sheppard, who owns Cobb's Adventure Park with his wife Maureen, says they have been hosting adult-only nights for the past few years.
"They've been quite popular," Sheppard said. "They have different themes. This one coming up is 'Drag Night.'"
Sheppard says the drag shows, which involve a stage where men dress up as women and perform, are just one part of the activities that are available to visitors.
This isn't the first time Sheppard held the event.
"Last year it was our most popular event and people loved it."
While much of the feedback has been positive, there have been a lot that he believes are hateful and target members of the LGBTQ2S+ community.
"We do have people that are coming out of the woodwork that are saying, 'this is sick,' 'is this mental health awareness?' and 'you're sexualizing children.'"
Sheppard says the hateful comments have been reported to the administrators of the social media platforms that they've appeared on as well as the police.
"But comments like that are vague and not much follow up can be done," he said.
"They are aware."
Despite the negative comments, Sheppard says the event will still go ahead as planned, but will improve existing security measures to keep guests safe.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.