Running head: ENHANCING LIVESTOCK
Ethics in the Show Ring
Mary Jenner
English 112:
Professor Malone
November 29, 2012
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Abstract
Recently, there have been concerns with what is considered ethical and unethical when enhancing livestock for the show ring, from the standpoint of those who show and raise cattle, to those whom simply consume the animals. Buckles, banners and outrageous amounts of prize money have led to practices that are frowned upon and considered cheating. So the question is: what methods of enhancing livestock are considered ethical and unethical? This has become a gray area in the junior agriculture world that threatens the integrity and purpose of youth in 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA). While some major stock shows have created sets of rules and enforced urine and blood testing for high placing animals, and have been known to sue and band those caught, dishonesty still occurs.
Aside from the show ring, market animals are also bought and consumed. Therefore, it is crucial that consumers know they are eating a product that is safe and palatable.
Researching printed and electronic sources, and interviewing someone who previously showed and enhanced their livestock gave me valuable information that answers the questions that have developed.

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Introduction
With such high stakes at the outrageous prize money awarded at major stock shows, cheating has become an all to common practice that affects not only other juniors and raisers chances at buckles and banners, but also those who consume the market animals after being bought and harvested. Those affiliated with agriculture,
FFA and 4-H should be concerned with the reputation upheld to continue to give the organizations and agriculture a respectable name in the eyes of media and outsiders. With unethical methods of enhancing livestock such as using drugs that are not natural, to pumping air and oil into the animal’s bodies to give more shape and width in areas lacking muscle, animals, youth, and consumers are all suffering.
By bring attention to why competitor’s fraud, the cheating processes, and current and past consequences of unethical practices the audience will better understand the gray areas of raising livestock for show ring purposes.
Why Cheat?
So why would contestants want to preform these unethical practices? Most believe that the consequences out way the risk. Major stock shows such as Fort
Worth, Houston, Denver, San Antonio, Louisville and Tulsa offer large prizes, the most sought out being the extreme amount of money for the grand champion animals. According to the article written by Erin Marvin on Cattle.com titled,
“Cheating in the Show Ring, Part 2”, “The record price for the Grand Champion steer at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was set in 2002 at $600,001. The 2006
Grand Champion lamb at the National Western Stock Show in Denver was offered

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$28,000. At prices like these, many people feel you can’t afford to not cheat”. An instance occurred at the National Western Stock Show. According to the article, in
The New York Times called, “Cheaters Chase Innocence from Livestock Shows,” “the lumbering, black steer, named Badger, fetched $37,500 at auction last January, and
Ryan and his parents could not have been more proud. But within days, the ribbon had been stripped, the money forfeited and Ryan banned for life from the Denver show -- for cheating.” The Rash families steer “had been fed an illegal, steroid like drug called clenbuterol that beefed him up, giving him the straight lines and muscular physique of a champion.” They however were not the only individuals accused of cheating that same year. Many sense the need to cheat because they feel that it is the only way of reaching the grand champion title that results in not only bragging rights, but in addition a substantial amount of money.
Cheating Process
There are many skeptical was to alter livestock unethically to gain an advantage in the show ring. Many people get the impression that most people do cheat, and therefore they themselves feel the need to do the same to level the playing field. However, this has led to more problems because it’s creating a domino effect that is leading to more common occurrences. Rather than showing the animal in its natural state, maxing out its genetics, competitors alter their animals in ways that many consider unfair and unethical. Not only do these practices influence livestock in the show ring, but on a consumption standpoint as well. According to an article in Industrial Image titled, “Ethics in the Show Ring: Making the Responsible

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Choice,” “Unethical behavior and the reams of publicity that can come with it alienate other producers as well as the general public which consumes dairy milk and beef.” Methods of altering animals are extensive, however a few are well described well in the article, written by Erin Marvin on Cattle.com titled, “Cheating in the Show Ring, Part 2.” She claims that “some acts, such as injecting the animals with Clenbuterol or Lasix, is clearly a direct violation of fair and exhibition rules.
Clenbuterol is a drug that accelerates the formation of the animal’s muscle mass, similar to anabolic steroids used by athletes. Lasix is a drug used to reduce the amount of water in an animal, making them feel firmer.”
NEED TO FINISH LAST ARGUMENT AND CONCLUSION
Review of Literature
Since my topic is controversial and considered to be an area of question, pulling sources that are not biased and over emphasized will be important in maintaining reliability and honesty in my research paper. These resources have a wide variety of topics that relate to my topic and will make me more knowledgeable about ethics, regulations, past instances of malpractice, and what the future holds for youth in the show world. The variety of my articles will give different aspects of answering the questions at hand.
I plan on using the article in Industrial Image titled, “Ethics in the Show Ring:
Making the Responsible Choice” when composing my research paper. The material in the article goes into detail about the action taken on dairy cattle on the show

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6 circuit, and the consequences set by dairy associations. There in addition is the adopted exhibition code set by the American Jersey Cattle Association that outlines some type of ethics to be followed that relate to animal and consumption safety. I find this useful, because it covers many topics I’m concerned about such as food safety, the integrity in raising genuine livestock, how enhancing animals can affect what we consume, and how conducting such practices can be inhumane to the animals at stake.
I appreciate and plan on using the article written by Erin Marvin on
Cattle.com titled, “Cheating in the Show Ring, Part 2”. Marvin goes into detail of the areas not typically discussed when cheating is brought up and how it can affect the point of views from the those who aren’t in the world of agriculture, giving it a bad reputation. The author wants to clear up areas of question on altering livestock as to which what is right, wrong and considered cheating. I will use the information she stated about the ways people have cheated in the past to get a chance at the big payouts at major shows. I will use some of the definitions given in the article to relate to mine to get a better understanding on some of the drugs and the way they are used to augment animals.
The International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) composed a
“Code of Show Ring Ethics” that is a list of guidelines to be followed by all exhibitors at all livestock competitive events. This information will give me an idea of what rules and regulations that are already implemented in the United States and Canada.
I will also compare this material to other resources I find to consider what rules have been broken by competitors, or if there is any instances that seem to have been

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7 able to slide through the cracks of the document. I appreciate this text because it covers concerns from who is responsible and cares for the animal while it is at shows, the use of drugs and unethical practices and the consequences set, to the expectations of the animals entering the food chain free of drug residues.
John Gambrell writes in his article, “Ohio Gets Strict on Checking Drug Use,
Enhancements” in Enquirer about instances of people making illegal modifications to their animals for stock shows in Ohio. He describes that there has been a decrease in the amount of cheating since the creation of Ohio’s Livestock Show Reform Act after a scandal at the State Fair in 1994. However, he gives examples of how there are still occurrences of cheating, which have been found to be accidental. This article will give me a different perspective to use in my paper as to how some of the cases were meant to cause no harm by exhibitors being unaware of the animal’s diet content or misunderstanding of the use of particular drugs. A solution concluded in the text is that counties that have children showing in them are holding quality assurance meetings to teach what to look for and how to protect their animals.
Joey Bunch writes in “Teen Accused of Cheating Back in Competitor’s Ring” from the Denver Post about a young exhibitor who was accused of cheating by using a muscle-enhancing substance on his lamb to place at the National Western Stock
Show. This will give me an outlook of how allegations can be dropped by inconclusive evidence to show that it’s not always the exhibitors in the wrong, but can be mistakes made by those examining and testing the lambs for illegal advantages. I also find the author’s perspective of how it is important to teach

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8 children and the programs they are in to not be dishonest and to learn the correct principles of raising livestock.
An article in the New York Times called, “Cheaters Chase Innocence from
Livestock Shows” is a useful example of how these unethical methods of enhancing livestock have consequences. One of the exhibitors caught using a steroid-like drug on his grand champion steer has become a well-known steer jockey in the livestock world. Therefore, I find it useful for my research paper in that him getting caught as a child taught him a valuable lesson, and he now knows the importance in raising genuine cattle. There is also an instance in the article of a exhibitor pumping his hog full of water to reach a specific weight which consequently killed the pig only minutes later. This information will contribute to my paper by giving an example of an unethical practice, which I can use to compare to other ethical methods.

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Tentative References
Baker, M. B. (2005). Big prize money at livestock shows leads to abuses.
Retrieved from http://www.ergogenics.org/prijsdieren3.html
(1995). Cheaters chase innocence from livestock shows. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/21/us/cheaters-chase-innocencefrom-livestock-shows.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm
(2000). Ethics in the show ring: Making the responsible choice. Retrieved from http://www.usjersey.com/Reference/Ethics.pdf
Tucker, J. (2000). International association of fairs and expositions: Code of show ring
ethics. Retrieved from http://www.fairsandexpos.com/pdf/ShowRingCodeofEthics.pdf
Gambrell, J. (2004). Ohio gets strict on checking drug use enhancements. Cincinnati
news. Retrieved from http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/06/loc_championcows06.html
Bunch, J. (2007). Teen accused of cheating back in competitors ring. The denver post.
Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5041795