RODEO AT PETCO PARK PURE ANIMAL CRUELTY
“If ever there were a completely gratuitous abuse of animals, and often baby animals at that, all done for the sheer thrill and bravado of it, it is rodeo.”
— Matthew Scully, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, in his 2002 book, “Dominion”
I find it mind-boggling that Petco Park would be hosting a rodeo Friday to Sunday — hopefully the last. I am concerned that Petco Park, whose naming rights were purchased by people concerned with animal welfare, would condone/allow a rodeo, an activity condemned by nearly every animal welfare organization on Earth. How can the Padres baseball team — part owners of the stadium — think this is OK? And now I see that the local Sheriff ’s Department is in cahoots with the animal abusers and will be recruiting at the event.
Cesar Chavez was an outspoken critic. And Pope Francis. And Martin Luther King Jr. For most of these exploited and abused animals, the rodeo arena is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. (See the prize-winning video “Bucking Tradition” at buckingtradition.com.)
Here’s an excerpt from a treasured letter that Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers, wrote to me on Dec. 26, 1990: “Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people. Racism, economic deprival, dog fighting and cock fighting, bullfighting and rodeos are cut from the same fabric: violence. Only when we have become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves.” Words to live by.
Five animals were killed at the 1995 California Rodeo/Salinas (I was there).
A roping calf with a broken back was not euthanized, but simply trucked off to slaughter, terrified and in agony. It reportedly took two days.
Painkillers given? “No,” the attending veterinarian told me, “That would ruin the meat.” So much for rodeo’s purported “love” of animals.
Only in the aftermath of the mayhem did the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) begin requiring on-site veterinary care at its 600 annual sanctioned events. Inexcusably, the great majority of the estimated 5,000-10,000 annual U.S. rodeos don’t provide even this basic care, to their ever-lasting shame. Legislation is in order, both local and state, to rectify this.
California boasts the most comprehensive rodeo law in the country, Penal Code 596.7. It requires injury reports, bans the use of electric prods, and requires either an on-site or on-call veterinarian at all rodeos.
The law should be amended, dropping the “on-call” vet option.
Racetracks, horse shows and endurance rides all require on-site veterinary care. Why not all rodeos, pray? And speaking of praying, isn’t it painfully ironic that the adoring farm animals recently seen gracing Nativity scenes nationwide are the very same animals abused in rodeo arenas around the country the rest of the year? The religious community needs to address this moral/ ethical issue.
Most of rodeo is bogus from the git-go. Working cowboys/girls never routinely rode bulls, wrestled steers, rode bareback, barrel raced or practiced calf roping as a timed event (terrifying babies). Nor did they put flank straps on the animals or work them over in the holding chutes with painful “hotshots,” tail-twisting, kicks and slaps. Some “sport”! True sport denotes willing, evenly matched participants. Rodeo doesn’t qualify. Rather, it’s mostly bogus, a macho exercise in domination.
To refer to these animals as “athletes” is absurd. Unlike racehorses and greyhounds, rodeo animals are not “trained” but provoked into their bizarre behaviors in the arena.
In addition to the rodeo’s sanctioned events, there’s a plethora of abusive non-sanctioned practices such as the “wild cow milking contest,” children’s “mutton busting,” “goat tying” and “calf riding” events, and various animal “scrambles.” State legislation is in order to curtail all these abuses. What terrible messages to send to impressionable young children (not to mention insensitive adults) about the proper and humane treatment of animals.
World-renowned animal behaviorist Temple Grandin has written that, “The single worst thing you can do to an animal emotionally is to make it feel afraid. Fear is so bad for animals I think it’s worse than pain.” Enough reason to outlaw rodeos. Rodeo animals are “prey” animals. They fear for their very lives when chased, roped, ridden, wrestled, dragged or otherwise handled roughly.
Rodeos were outlawed in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Wales) back in 1934, followed by Germany and the Netherlands. New Zealand and Australia are currently striving to do likewise. Can the U.S. be far behind? As the CEO of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo recently stated, “If it gets to the point where people think rodeo is inhumane or cruel, they quit coming, and then we’re out of business.” Now’s the time.
Rodeo has had its brutal day and now — like those Confederate statues — belongs in the dustbin of history. Until that happy day, boycott all rodeos, their corporate sponsors and advertisers. Follow the money.
Unlike racehorses and greyhounds, rodeo animals are not “trained.” They are provoked into their bizarre behaviors in the arena.