Is Rodeo Livestock Treated Cruel?
Slam! The red rusted metal gate swung open and hit the chute. The red, tan, brindle
beast come flying out of the oversized kennel kicking and turning intentionally trying to
throw my husband onto the arena floor. SpongeBob was the name of the beast;
completely opposite of a little tiny sponge the bull was as big as an elephant stomping
around on the arena floor, like most bulls SpongeBob
How Rodeo Began
In the 1700’s the Spanish
ruled the west. The
“American Cowboy” was
intrigued with their
language, clothing traditions
and equipment. When the
Americans would reach the
end of their cattle drives they
began celebrating with
competitions that
represented the ranch chores
that were performed daily. In
the 1800’s the railroads
began to spread and the long
cattle drives died out. Rodeos
began to arise in the 1890’s
to represent the American
west.
was not fond of the rider on his back.
My husband, Paul has been riding bulls for over two
years now, watching him ride in several different
rodeos I thought I had overcome the fear of him getting
hurt, but this time was different. Paul gradually fell to
the side of the bull continuing to hold on with one hand
and the other in the air. I turned into a stiff wooden
board, my hands hit my face, I peeked between my
fingers and watched him fall to the ground as the tiny
grains of sand blew up into the crevasses of his clothes,
and his spurs dug into the dirt. “Get up, why isn’t he
getting up?” yelling I began to feel the salty drips of
water stream down my cheek. My mom grabbed me. When I looked up, the bull was
charging for him, I could feel my chest ready to explode with every aching beat. Standing
up I yelled. “Run!” The bull charged towards him as he was still on the ground, the bull
was kicking his legs into the air right over Paul. As the bull landed full body weight onto
the arena floor, his hoofs dug into Paul’s chest and thigh. The bull fighters finally made
their way to Paul and chased the bull the opposite direction. Paul made it to safety.
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Is Rodeo Livestock Treated Cruel?
The longest 7 seconds of my life were watching Paul from the audience and hoping
that he could get to safety. Not once did I think about the animal in danger of getting hurt
but only for the competitor that chose to sit upon his back.
When arriving at the Days of 47 Rodeo, there were protestors before we even made it
to the parking lot. They were holding yellow and black signs that read “Buck the Rodeo”.
People of all ages from five and up were standing outside on the sidewalk waving the
signs back and forth to make sure that everyone
saw what they had to say. This was the first time I
had seen protestors at a rodeo throughout the 2
years that I have traveled around the state to watch
them.
Many associations believe that the animals in
rodeos are treated cruel and feel that rodeos should be banned. The way certain
equipment portrays itself can appear harmful to the animals, such as the flank straps,
wrapped around the animals’ abdomen. The associations feel that they are tightly
strapped and cause irritation and sores from rubbing. Another piece of equipment that is
misunderstood is the electric prods. Associations against rodeo feel that the electric prod
and cattle prod are only used to rile the animal up in the chutes and get them ready to
buck and perform at their highest level. Another piece of equipment that the
associations bring up about hurting the animals is spurs, spurs are
portrayed
with sharp pointy rowels that dig into the animal and only harm the
animal. Most if not all rodeo competitors own a pair of spurs.
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Is Rodeo Livestock Treated Cruel?
But what they don’t realize is the rules and the facts about the animals. Not only that
their hides are five times thicker than humans, but there are regulations that are set in
place to keep the sport humane. These regulations are enforced by the Professional Rodeo
Cowboys Association and are strictly watched by all rodeo judges.
We have some close friends that are stock contractors, stock contractors are the people
that breed, raise and transport the animals from event to event. The Professional Rodeo
Cowboy Association has 60 rules that they enforce to keep the animal and competitor
safe.
Brad one of our close friends, rode bulls for most
of his life. Winning the NFR on a bull named
Bacardi, with a score of 94 points. Brad purchased
the bull and continued raising him to breed. Bacardi
is about 21 years old now and is still healthy enough
to breed but no longer bucks. It’s rare for a bull 25
years old to be bucking but some bulls are still be
active at age 15. Brad has bred some of the top
bulls through Bacardi’s blood line and will continue
Facts about Rodeo
-Average bucking horse
works less than five
min. per year.
-Good bucking horse
can cost more than
$25000.
-Good bucking bull can
cost more than
$100,000.
-The PRCA has 60 rules.
doing so because of the great bull that Bacardi is. Bulls and other stock are bred to buck,
they are not taught to buck by equipment.
Like Brad stock contractors put a lot of time and money into their rodeo stock. The
animals that the stock contractors produce can be very pricy. Therefore health and
performance from these animals are very important to the competitor and to the
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Is Rodeo Livestock Treated Cruel?
contractor, because bucking horses can cost more than $25,000, and a bucking bull can
cost more than $100,000. That’s enough to pay for a house or new vehicle.
While walking around the back of the chutes at a local rodeo I began talking to one of
the contractors that often uses his stock. I began looking at the animals’ abdomen where
the flank straps are often placed. It was very hard to tell the exact placement of the straps
but knowing that the animals are often used I could tell
that the straps must be made of something to protect
them from getting injured. Talking to the contractor
named Bruce he began showing me a flank strap that
was being used that night. It was leather on the outside
and covered in fleece on the other side where the strap touches the animal. Bruce
explained to me that they are only allowed to use fleece or neoprene straps so that the
animal doesn’t get injured. He also talked about the spurs used in rodeo. Spurs are
required when riding any bucking animal but the rowel must turn and the edges must be
dull in order to be able to wear them. These rules are put into place to protect the animal.
The spurs are not worn to injure the animal but to increase the footing of the rider.
In bull riding or bronco riding spurring increase riders’ scores, the reason it does is
because it makes it more difficult for the competitor to stay on top of the anima l if their
legs are moving rather than gripping. The
scores received in rodeo are based on the bull
and the rider. They both can receive a score of
0-50 equaling a score of 100. This gives the
competitor and the stock contractors a good reason to take care of the animals and keep
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Is Rodeo Livestock Treated Cruel?
them from injury. In order to receive a high score the animal and the competitor must be
in good health.
I believe that rodeos are regulated very carefully around the livestock. The amount of
rodeos that are put on during the summer out numbers
the associations that believe it is cruel. If rodeos were as
cruel as some people believe they are than rodeo would
be outlawed and withdrawn from the public.
The animals used in rodeo are like any human
competitor they are “pampered” and looked upon by
others. After becoming familiar with both the competitor
and the livestock I now understand the process it takes to raise and transport the livestock
animals and the importance in the safety of every
livestock competitor that is used. Rodeo is not cruel
to its animals. Rodeo animals in are in better shape
than an animal that sits in a corral with no purpose.
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