An animal rights activist in a small English fishing village prevented a contest in which fishermen hurl giant dead eel at each other by sending a threatening e-mail. The activist said he would film the contest to attract negative media attention to the village's annual tradition of "conger cuddling."

Crowds have gathered in the village of Lyme Reggis every year for more than three decades to watch two teams of fisherman stand on wooden platforms and swing 25-pound dead eel at each other. The object of a conger cuddling match is to knock the opposing team off the platform.

Andrew Kaye, a resident and spokesman for the Lyme Regis lifeboat crews who raise money through the tournament, told the Associated Press that an anonymous e-mailer had written saying the practice was disrespectful that he would attract adverse media attention to the event.

Kaye told the AP, "We decided that it really wasn't worth upsetting anybody by going ahead with using a dead conger. But it's a dead conger, for Pete's sake. I shouldn't think the conger could care one way or another."

The event generally draws in about $5,600 for Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat crews. About 300 people attended an alternative event on Friday night that involved boat dock fenders in the place of dead eel.