If you happened to be near Charlie’s Denver over the weekend — a gay bar on East Colfax — alongside the usual sounds of music coming from the patio, you may have also heard patrons cheering and rallying behind their favorite turtle.
Yes — turtle. You read that right.
On Saturday, the bar hosted a turtle race in which patrons selected tiny turtles — many no bigger than a golf ball — and used spray bottles filled with water to “encourage” them toward the finish line.
Videos and promotions of the event quickly sparked backlash online, with animal welfare advocates raising concerns about the treatment of the reptiles and the environment they were exposed to.
Bloom Novak, a Denver community activist, said they became alarmed after seeing a video of the event that Charlie’s initially posted — and later deleted — circulating on social media. Concerned the footage could disappear, Novak screen-recorded the video before creating their own post criticizing the event.
“Tell Charlie’s Denver no more animal abuse!” the post read.
The criticism quickly gained traction online — on both Instagram and Reddit — with Novak’s post drawing thousands of likes and hundreds of shares.
“I'd seen the post and I was just immediately very disturbed,” Novak said. “Especially as a queer person myself, I do think it's extremely important we hold establishments that use our names and identities accountable when they do things like this and say that we're not okay with it as a community.”
'We're never hosting them again'
Denverite went to Charlie’s to ask them about the event.
“We're never hosting them again,” an employee told Denverite. “There was no staff involvement, that was a nonprofit organization that was hosted here. It was not a Charlie's event.”
Two hours later, Charlie’s issued a public statement, saying it understood community concerns and confirmed it will not host turtle racing events in the future.
The bar also pushed back on claims the animals were taken from the wild, stating the turtles were “privately owned, farm-raised pet turtles” belonging to a member of the Colorado Gay Rodeo Association. The Colfax-based establishment said the event was held as a fundraiser for the association.
“The animals were transported to the event by their owner, remained under their care throughout the event, and were returned safely to their home afterward, where they continue to be cared for,” the statement read.
The event did no violate any city laws
While Denver requires permits for certain animal-related events, such as rodeos and animal exhibitions, city officials said permits are not required when an outside organization brings animals to a venue like Charlie’s.
As a result, officials said neither Charlie’s nor the Colorado Gay Rodeo Association violated any city laws.
Denver Animal Protection also investigated complaints related to the event and found no evidence of illegal animal mistreatment or ordinance violations.
“I will just say just because something's legal doesn't necessarily mean it's appropriate,” Josh Rolfe, Denver Animal Protection Lieutenant, told Denverite. “And I think that the court of public opinion is weighing in pretty strongly here on social media that they do not approve of this type of event.”
While officials said the turtles were handled by an outside organization, they also emphasized that federal law prohibits the sale of turtles with shells smaller than four inches. Investigators, however, found no evidence that the turtles were being sold at the event.
