News
Animal Abuse is Not Entertainment
December 02, 2008, 11:54PM MT
By Dori F Gilbert
The rodeo is in town. Don’t go.
The rodeo is in town. Don’t go.
By Dori Gilbert, Best Friends Network
What once may have been an Old West tradition, that had it’s beginnings in cattle drives, has become a spectacle of animal cruelty, greed, and modern day “cowboys” trying to prove how tough they are by demonstrating dominance over “wild” animals. Except the animals aren’t wild. The vast majority of animals used in rodeos are domesticated and not aggressive. They are forced to look wild though painful devices and practices such as electric prods, spurs, flank straps, and tail twisting.
These domesticated animals do not naturally buck. They only buck because of the flank (or bucking) strap that is strapped so tightly around their abdomen that they buck vigorously to try to rid themselves of the pain. Animals frequently end up with open sores from the flank strap and the wild bucking itself can cause serious injuries including death. Several American cities have outlawed the use of the flank strap because it is so cruel.
Calf-roping involves four to five month old calves bursting out of a chute at speeds up to 30 miles an hour in a desperate attempt to escape from handlers who are tormenting them by twisting and yanking their tails. The calves are then lassoed around their necks, jerked back (which often results in neck injuries), then slammed to the ground to stun them so the “cowboys” can tie their legs together.
Rodeo animals commonly suffer serious injuries, such as torn ligaments, broken bones, fractured horns, internal bleeding, and even severed spinal cords or tracheas. And while all rodeos have ambulances and paramedics nearby in case of human injuries, only Rhode Island and California have laws requiring the presence of veterinarians as well. As a result of the lack of immediate medical care many animals die on-site.
And what happens to the injured animals who live? Because the majority of rodeo animals are eventually slaughtered for human consumption, severely injured animals are usually not given pain-killing medication because their meat can't be sold if they've been given such drugs. Many animals who are severely injured during rodeo competitions are shipped directly to slaughterhouses in extreme pain.
Veterinarian and USDA meat inspector C. G. Haber has witnessed the devastating cruelty rodeos inflict on animals. According to Dr. Haber, "The rodeo folks send their animals to the packing houses where…I have seen cattle so extensively bruised that the only areas in which skin was attached [to the body] was the head, neck, legs and belly. I have seen animals with six to eight ribs broken from the spine and at times puncturing the lungs… Bullfights are merciful compared to rodeos. It’s high time this cruel sport be outlawed in the United States."
Complaints about the rodeo are handled by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association who claim that their “humane rules” protect the animals. Unfortunately the rules are rarely enforced and even when they are the fines imposed are a mere pittance, $250 for the first offense, compared to the prize money to be won. The “humane rules” also allow the animals to be confined or transported in vehicles for up to 24 hours without being properly fed, watered, or unloaded.
Laws banning some rodeo events do exist. Nevada prohibits steer roping. Our state veterinarian says steer roping causes animals to get "hurt too often". For a list of other locations that have banned rodeos or specific rodeo events click here.
What You Can Do:
The best way to end this animal abuse is to not subsidize it. Don’t go to the rodeo and don’t patronize rodeo’s biggest corporate sponsors: Coca-Cola, Southwest Airlines, AT&T, Marriott, Dodge Chrysler, and Bank of America. Urge these sponsors to stop supporting this cruel industry. For corporate sponsor contact information click here.
For more information on rodeo animal abuse go to SHARK