Should Rodeos Be Banned?
For as long as we’ve known, animals have been exploited for human amusement in cases such a rodeos, circuses and Seaworld’s use of orcas. It may seem like we are on the brink of a change in the right direction regarding the use/abuse of animals in entertainment: elephant bullhook ban in Los Angela taking effect in the beginning of 2017, and restricting the use of orcas in shows at SeaWorld during 2016. Could it be possible that rodeos, with their inherent cruelty, be far behind? Unfortunately, some of the participating animals suffer through loss of life from contestant physical punishment and demand. Examples such as: A Laramie County Community College rodeo coach was charged with cruelty to animals after four rodeo
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steers froze to death in Wyoming in 1996. As well as, March 16, 1998 at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a steer sustained a broken neck during the steer-wrestling competition, and two calves broke their legs during the calf-roping events. Being roped, neglected, and some being forced to struggle for survival after traumatic events, just for our entertainment. Unwilling participants endure an unnatural environment and given aid to meet the audience's demand, subjecting them to incomprehensible pain. Some left in unsanitary conditions, packed in dense crowds moving from one location to another for a Friday night of games. They have little hope as they live out their days without the compassion they deserve. Some found and rescued, given the chance to experience how great life and humans can be; others aren't so lucky and subject to this extended and painful path straight to the slaughter house. Dr. T. K. Hardy, a veterinarian stated that 2 or 3 calves gains an injury in each practice session and have to be replaced throughout multiple practices before the cowboy even makes it to the show arna. The rising number of people who attended any professional rodeo event amounted to 5.33 million within a period of 12 months, enjoying the normalized abuse but little do they know the horrific events happens behind the scenes and the techniques they use to maintain a positive fun show for the entendies. To grow together as a nation we must settles our issues on the aspect of right and where they should be placed. As this national race continues we must fight for the abused animals and enforce their rights, because if we don't speak up who will? In all cases Rodeos are an act of cruelty should be banned, measures need to be set in place to restrict the low quality of animal life used in the entertainment industries consisting of, the original foundation has been entirely based off of a myth, within rodeos there are many unnecessary lives lost and injured by devices and tools. Anyone who has attended a rodeo recalls the pride they felt as the American banners and flags were ridden around the arena on sprinting horses, the flags then settled in the center for the “Star Spangled Banner” to begin.
Then a prayer goes out for the participants and the including animals, setting up a cultural scene to give the viewers the aesthetic feel of the old western times. Rodeos are a part of American culture especially in the western portion of the country which came to existence because of the farmers and their ranch hands. The first documented rodeo to show was Sante Fe, New Mexico in 1847. Rodeo, they say, is about the historical cowboy daily life, the American frontier ethic and the kind of values that built a nation, but is our nation built on a myth. Rodeos don’t prefer to dwell on the abuse and suffering of animals rather on the tradition, heritage and simpler times when one could beat up on animals without tofu-eatin’ do-gooders giving them a hard time for it. To focus on the abuse suffered by animals is to ignore reason itself, missing out on the big picture. Interestingly, for the animals, that is the only picture. There's a documented number of over 176 “groups” participating in the fight against this cruel sport in hopes for a better life for all animals involved. Being nothing similar to the rodeos today, the cowmen have what is called the round-up, when the calves are branded and the fat beasts selected to be driven to a fair hundreds of miles away. This roundup is a great time for the cowhand, a Donnybrook fair it is indeed. They contest with each other for the best roping and throwing, and there are horse races and whiskey and wines. Not including abuse and endangering contests. “Today's rodeos bear little resemblance to ranch work where care was taken to not injure animals. Modern rodeos are nothing more than western-themed circuses with contestants wearing John Wayne costumes and racing against the clock in a cruel spectacle for
cash prizes.” If ranch hands were to provide service to the animals in the same compassion and respect as they do now without a thought they would never be hired and trusten to take the owners cows cross country.. The animals who participated in the traditional western cultural acts were placed in an appropriate, familiar area, lacking the common tools used today to ensure action, and consist of a contest where the cowboys selected the most air of cows and branded them, a party before they take off cross country to sell. Well taken care of as they move through large areas of land. In no way does a rodeo resemble these actions, todays rodeos include little to no tradition and history. Rodeo animals are generally domesticated creatures who must be provoked into a state of frightment where their natural flight or fight instincts are used against them. They live lives filled with constant stress and fear. Numerous use in practice the cowboys games on multiple calves, bulls, and so forth, resulting in injuries and death to many animals before even entering the ring. A contestant's score is based on how long he can ride a struggling bronc or bull, or how quickly he can overpower an animal by roping or tieing them down often injuring them in the process.. Sprains, broken bones, muscle pulls, saddle blisters, spur wounds, flank strap wounds, punctured lungs, broken ribs, hematomas, bruising, and broken necks are all common injuries that go ignored by the rodeo industry. Wounded animals are quickly removed while the rodeo announcer distracts the public causing them to soon forget the traumatic event. While behind the scenes if the injured animal is too severely injured then it is sent off to a slaughter house and dies without compassion nor any recognition for its existence, but for the lucky few who survive is just placed right back in the injuries until it is too injured to continue or too old. Animals die in rodeos. They die needlessly and often. “In 1995 three horses were killed in the Stampede rodeo: two during chuckwagon races and one after slamming its head against a metal gate. In 1986 a horrific chuckwagon crash resulted in the deaths of nine horses and made headlines around the world. In the intervening years other animals have died— crushed beneath chuckwagons, euthanized after having their legs broken, and even suffering heart attacks—all of them raw materials exploited for profit and tossed away like trash. And let us not forget that the Calgary Stampede is the world’s largest and richest rodeo, subject to higher standards and greater scrutiny than the thousands of two-bit rodeos that take place in North America every year.” These were just a few of the needless injuries and death placed upon the livestock shown in a rodeo event. Rodeo proponents will argue that the animals must be treated well, as the success of their sport relies on healthy animals to buck and run and all those other things that frightened, frustrated creatures do. They’ll even tell you with a straight face that cowboys genuinely respect and even love their animals. How caring could they truly be to subject their “loved” livestock to finch straps, tight ropes around the sensitive skin surrounding the neck and feet. Three to four-month-old calves often endure tail twisting, which is where the person in control of the current calf used twists its tail causing fear and pain to this calf, which often bolts at full speed racing up to 25 miles per hour to be roped around the neck or feet and stopped and pulled back in an instint. Devices included in rodeos include electric prods, spurs, and bucking straps, all used to irritate and enrage animals in rodeos. Making the animal more entertaining for the audience. The flank, or “bucking,” strap or rope is tightly cinched around the animals’ abdomens, which causes them to “buck vigorously to try to rid themselves of the torment.” A flankmen is A cowboy or cowgirl who works behind the bucking chutes, adjusting the flank strap around the animal before the ride; the best flankmen know exactly how much to tighten the flank strap to give that animal to encourage optimal bucking and a more showier ride, but can lead to a higher chance of a real leg injury in the horse where a tendon breaks down. It is unnatural for horses to normally jump up and down causing more injuries than needed.
Although it’s entertaining to watch these animals perform, most people don’t take the time to think about the issues that the companies that are involved in this type of entertainment encounter. The frequently asked questions of how
Rodeos take place either inside large buildings, or outside in dirt arenas. The events in a rodeo can range from bucking bulls, steer wrestling, and roping. Each event has their own rules as well as regulations. These rules keep the cowboys, and livestock safe when competing against each other. However, some people may consider rodeos as a form of animal cruelty. It is understandable why it can be seen this way because everything happens really fast, and it is hard to keep up with what’s happening in the arena. It would also be really easy to think it was hurting the animals if a person simply didn’t know everything that goes into each event. Rodeos are not animal cruelty due to all the rules, and the effort that goes into the care of each
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...
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.
Contestants arrive at the arena an hour before the performance to draw the calf each will be roping. A large pen of calves is assembled, each calf branded with a different number. Corresponding numbers are placed in a hat and each cowboy draws his calf for the first go-around. There is always some cowboy who knows what rodeo string these particular calves are from and can discuss some trait of nearly all of them. For example, " number 16 breaks hard and heads straight to the far end of the arena. Number 8 will break hard but tends to veer sharply right on nearly every run. Number 21 breaks slow and many a good horse has run right past him".
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 as cruel and abusive. But the rodeo today is changing with the hope of getting better. The bucking and roping stock are treated as prized animals. They even have their own bucking champions. The solution to any kind of animal abuse is in the continued scrutiny of the sport by the PRCA. As the sport evolves and the animals become more valuable it should cause better care for the animals.
Everything about going to this rodeo was fantastic: the food, the fun, most of all, the rodeo grounds. The place that I fit in was in the stands of the arena. Sitting there for four days got a little old, and, going on the fifth day, I was a little tired. Nevertheless, tired or not, this was what I had been looking forward to--the Short Go. This is the round in a rodeo when the top 15 from each event compete for the title of State Champion.
The imagery associated with bulls and steers is confusing, since it is clearly supportive of bulls over steers. Bulls are associated with passion. Those who identify with bulls through their enthusiasm for bullfighting are called "aficionado" from the Spanish word for passion (131). Those who lack aficion are valueless while a true aficionado is a "buen hombre" (132). The bulls are "beautiful," muscular, aggressive and "dangerous" (139, 141). Because of their physical prowess and their sexual potency, bulls are capable of ascending to the heights of glory. They arouse passions in the crowds who gather to watch them run and fight. In sharp contrast, the steers are weak and emasculate. ...
“Furthermore what the crowd honors is the victor, tossing him flowers and gifts, which he gracious returns, it is no mans victory over the animal, for the bull is always defeated; it is man’s victory over ignorance, fear, necessity. Man has made his victory a spectacle, so that it may become a victory of all those watching him and recognizing themselves in it” (Barthes, 2007). This is a very interesting paragraph from ‘bullfighting’ by Barthes. It proposes that bullfighting is never fait because the bulls can never win, and that the joy in the ‘sport’ comes from realization that man is greater that beast. This paper will analyze this paragraph using two opposing books for reference, ‘death in the afternoon’ by Ernest Hemingway and ‘on bullfighting’ by A. L Kennedy.
“There can be many reason for animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, or under control of others. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts what they have seen or that have been done to them, others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against--or threaten-- someone who cares about that animal”. (“Animal… Statistics”) Concerns towards abusing animals have gone up in the past. Although there are not many cases on animal abuse, many have occurred. Abusers are charged with Criminal Animal Abuse and then sentenced to life in prison. Some animals that are physically abused are sometimes rescued by Animal Control, and are taken it to an animal shelter. However, many shelters have not had the space to keep the animals so the workers would have to put them down (Carol Roach). Researchers have shown that the main animals getting abused are dogs, chickens, horses, and livestock (“Animal...
Executive Summary 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.
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...
“250,000 bulls are killed in stadiums each year for the fun of bullfighting”(League Against Cruel Sports). “Bullfighting is a tradition that dates back to 711, when Spain's royal court celebrated the coronation of King Alfonso VII”(Issues and Controversies). In this practice bulls are put in an arena in front of crowds of people. First, the matador encourages the bull to attack him with his red cape. Then, he weakens the bull by using lances and darts that are driven into the bulls flanks. Finally, when the bull is weak the matador slices its neck with a sword to kill the bull. Throughout this whole performance the bull suffers from extreme pain and anxiety from the wound in its body. Due to the inhumane practice of killing the bull in bullfights countries should eliminate this sport.
Since the beginning of the modern day circus in the early 20th century millions of Americans have enjoyed the performances by both the people and the animals that perform for our entertainment. However, the audience is blinded by shock and awe of the show from what really happens behind the curtain. Animal cruelty, poor living conditions, and lack of legal regulation scars the animals and becomes very dangerous to the overall health of the animals and those who are around them. The mistreatment of animals in circuses has been occurring for far too long, and new laws need to be implemented in an effort to prevent future acts of cruelty toward these animals.