Rodeo Cruelty, What do you think?
Animal abuse can be looked at in many different forms but it’s mostly up to you to determine if you agree or disagree with it. Many people believe rodeos should be outlawed because of the visible abuse. It could be from a steer getting drug behind a horse or from probes that make bucking horses and bulls buck. Others believe that all actions are taken to insure the safety of the animals and the contestants. The real question is what do you believe?
Rodeo is more common in the western part of The United States. It is also an official sport in the states of Texas, Wyoming, Montana, and Texas. Rodeo originated from working cowboys out west who roped calves for doctoring purposes and rode bucking horses to train them to help work the farms of the west. There are a wide variety of rules and regulations that rodeo contractors have to abide by. Most of them make sure the animals are treated properly and the riders or ropers are kept safe. The rules and regulations vary from state to state. Some states may have more strict rules than another. Some states like California protects the timed event livestock more and they will not allow you to use probes with electricity when an animal is in the chutes. Other states like Ohio will focus more on the rough stock and will not allow any probes in bucking straps and unpadded bucking straps that go on the flank of bucking stock.
One sport of rodeo that raises the eyebrows of many anti-rodeo activists is Team Roping. Team roping was used for the purpose of catching live cattle on the range to perform vaccinations and to treat injuries. Team Roping is defined as on cowboy ropes the steer around the horns and turn left, so that the next cowboy can come behi...
... middle of paper ...
...BullRidersDefense.htm>.
2.)"Calf Jerk-Downs." SHowing Animals Respect & Kindness. N.p., n.d. Web. . .
3.)Cooper, Roy. Calf Roping. Colorado Springs, Co: Western Horseman INC., 1984. Print.
4.)"Rodeo Facts: The Case Against Rodeos." Winning the Case Against Cruelty. Animal Legal Defense Fund, 1979. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
5.)Murray, Ty, and Kendra Santos. Roughstock: The Mud, the Blood, and the Beer. Austin, TX: Equimedia, 2001. Print.
6.) "PRCA Rodeo Equiptment." ProRodeo. PRCA, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
7.) "What's Wrong With Rodeo." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Their family-friendly reputation changed “around 1976, when animal-fighting venues were added to the Animal Welfare Act, according to Donald Cleary of the National Canine Research Council. Pits—often trained as combatants—came to be seen as dangerous. Throughout the next two decades, stories about vicious pits mauling innocent children appeared in news outlets across the country” (Tullis 3). Interestingly enough, pit bulls were not always the breed under fire by society. In the 1800’s, bite reports by bloodhounds, which were often used to hunt down escaped slaves, flooded the Northeastern newspapers.
An excited crowd waits expectantly to see the horse, cowboy, and calf burst out of the chute. Within seconds, the cowboy has the calf roped, on the ground, and tied. The action appears effortless. Two wranglers release the calf, and it trots out of the arena, seemingly unharmed. The question remains, are rodeos humane? That does the calf think of all this excitement? Contrary to what many people assume, PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) sanctioned rodeos treat their livestock humanely.
It’s 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Jake and I are headed down the longest stretch of road in Texas. We have just pulled out of El Paso and are on the way to Fredericksburg to participate in the Frontier Days Rodeo. We were fortunate to have put together a decent run on our last draw and win enough day-money to keep us going for a while. Jake and I are rodeo-bums, to be specific, calf ropers. I am the one who tries to throw the loop of a rope around a calf’s neck and Jake is my partner, the best roping horse a cowboy ever mounted. By the way, how many understand the art of calf roping? I thought so. Let me walk through the steps of what it takes to put together that perfect run, not that I can do it that often.
The image of the cowboy as Jennifer Moskowitz notes in her article “The Cultural Myth of the Cowboy, or, How the West was Won” is “uniquely
Rodeo was believed to have started as friendly competition between ranch hands to see who could complete daily tasks the fastest and most efficient. That eventually grew into the “American sport” we have today, though it’s not only practiced in America (About). It is seen by many as a way to celebrate America’s western roots. Prescott Arizona holds the title of world’s oldest formalized rodeo. On July 4th 1888 businessmen there organized a “Cowboy Tournament” that later grew to be “a multimillion dollar enterprise with more than 700 professional rodeos in 50 states” (Anderson). It may seem and look a little different than it did back then,” but it still involves just as much skill and horsemanship as before” (About).
Many people may ask, “What the heck is the Cattleman’s Association?” Normally, the first thoughts that fill people’s minds when they hear “Cattleman’s Association” are: farmers, cows, farms, rednecks, dairy, beef, steaks, hamburger, milk, and so on. Many of these “stereotypes” prove true and many not so much. My experience with the KCA (Kentucky Cattleman’s Association) may be limited, but its roots run deep in my hometown and my family. Although a great number of my family members are in the KCA, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about them, which inspired me to “get to know” them.
A very popular media page that is against rodeo is SHARK, which stands for Showing Animals Respect and Kindness. This page has a ton of articles that encourage others to view rodeo as cruel. SHARK had written an entire article on the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, and how cruel the rodeo was. After the article went viral, many Internet surfers began really discussing how cruel rodeo was and suddenly more protests began, and more and more people began boycotting rodeos. Once this happened Rodeo Spokesman began talking and firing back at the negative comments proving their statements were in fact false. Soon after this major upturn, an article was written in the Wyoming Tribute Eagle, titled CFD Rodeo: Safe or Cruel? The article discussed what SHARK had mentioned in their article and what the rodeo spokesman said in return. “SHARK said a different horse died Tuesday in the arena after its rider rode dangerously close to a fence. The group said the rider may have created the accident by riding too close to the fence. CFD responded that an autopsy by a board-certified veterinarian showed the horse died from aortic aneurism. "There was no trauma" from an injury, Budd said. The death could have happened anywhere. The horse "died of a medical condition, not an injury."” (Orr, 2013, para. 1)
Every event in rodeo has a practical purpose; all but one that is. There is no practical reason to get on a bull; only the thrills, chills, and rush of excitement. It¡¦s more than a challenge between riders. It¡¦s a challenge between man and beast. Legendary cowboy Larry Mahan had an even different way of looking at it. He said, ¡§It¡¦s not a challenge with the animal but with the weakness in one¡¦s self¡¨. At any rate, it¡¦s all about the challenge.
Lane Frost was born in La Junta, Colorado on October 12, 1963, while his dad was still competing in the rodeo circuit. Lane grew up with a desire to ride bulls. He was showing an interest in the sport as young as 5 months. His mom, Elsie Frost, said that whenever they went to rodeos Lane would always fight to stay awake to watch the bull riding. If they tried to leave before it was over, he would scream and cry and throw a huge fit (Frost 1). At the age of five Lane started riding dairy calves on the family dairy farm in Vernal, Utah. He rode calves and steers when he was younger, entering and competing in any rodeo he could. In 1978, when Lane was 15 years old, his family moved to Lane, Oklahoma. There he began to compete regularly in bull riding, and in 1981 he won the National High School Rodeo bull riding championship. Lane graduated from Atoka High school in 1982. He was offered rodeo scholarships from many different colleges, but he turned them down and decided to pursue a professional bull riding career instead...
The U.S. Department of Interior’s, Bureau of Land Management, (BLM) was appointed to carry out the Act and given the task of managing the herds of wild horses and burros. Consequently, BLM’s management of wild horse herds has been highly criticized by animal rights activists, horse advocates, news media, as well as members of Congress. There have been numerous lawsuits filed against BLM regarding their management practices and their appalling wild horse round-ups. However, unimpeded BLM continues with the controversial issue of wild horse round-ups, resulting in the death and injury of many wild horses and burros. The vast majority of these round...
Kirkpatrick, Jay F. "The Surprising History of America's Wild Horses." LiveScience.com. Live Science, 24 July 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. .
Rodeo is a sport with long American traditions and loved by many spectators and participants. Past history has shown that rodeo needed to make way for a new era of riders and trainers with a larger emphasis on the welfare of the animals and not be discontinued or banned entirely. Today’s rodeos do not present a danger to the animals because the animals are well-cared for and protected, rodeos have strict rules and the stock are treated as prized animals.
Every 60 seconds an animal is abused. Dogs, cats, horses, and many other types of animals are being neglected and tortured everyday, yet resulting in few and minor consequences for the perpetrators. Animal abuse is prevalent in the United States and has been an ongoing issue since the 1970's, and prior to. Society as a whole has chosen to avoid the facts and arguments about animal cruelty, because to some it is seen as acceptable and typical. It becomes much more frowned upon when people actually see the results of the cruelty, especially in the media.
Preview: So today, I would like to attempt to persuade you that circuses should stop using animals, with a ...
The article “Animals Used as Entertainment” lists rodeos, circuses, bullfighting, horse racing, cockfighting, dog fighting, and zoos as examples of the many ways animals are used in entertainment. Circuses and zoos are the two most relevant forms of animal mistreatment. Both of these are sources of entertainment for children and adults. Zoos declare that the...