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The Cruel Reality of Rodeos
There is an event in this country portrayed as wholesome family entertainment. This event is called rodeo, and it is anything but wholesome. Rodeos do not educate people about ranching skills important in the Old West. Rodeo events have been created specifically for public entertainment that serves no practical purpose but harming animals.
The animals used in rodeos do not live on ranches. Rodeo animals spend most of their lives in cramped quarters and transportation vehicles and do not always receive proper medical care. Electric prods, caustic ointments and whips are often used to irritate and enrage the animals prior to their performances.
One of the worst events in rodeo is calf roping. In this event the "cowboy" pursues and ropes a frantically running calf. Calves frequently suffer bruised or broken necks, as well as injuries from being slammed to the ground.
Rodeo association rules do not provide sufficient protection to animals used in the rodeo. Nor are the minimum rules governing rodeos adequately enforced. Rodeo contestants are rarely penalized for injuring or killing an animal.
The greatest responsibility for rodeo cruelty rests with the audiences of such spectacles. There is a growing concern about the effect that public approval and encouragement of violence toward animals has had on the frequency of violence directed toward humans. As the general public becomes more aware of the cruelty rodeo animals face, "entertainment" that inflicts such cruelty will eventually be unacceptable.
