Editor’s note: This commentary is by Peggy W. Larson, of Williston, who is a veterinarian and a lawyer who has spoken and consulted widely about animal abuse. She was a large animal veterinarian and cared for rodeo stock. She was Vermont state veterinarian and veterinary medical officer for the USDA in the 1980s.
[R]odeo is not entertainment. It is animal cruelty. Think of the uproar that would ensue if a dog was roped, knocked down and dragged across an arena. Instead, the victim is a calf. Both feel the stress, fear and pain, yet only the dog is protected from this abuse.
Thunder Road is having a rodeo in October, which will include calf roping, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding and calf roping. These are the common events in rodeo.
Calf roping: The calf is separated from its mother and forced into a holding chute. Often the calf’s tail is twisted, a 5,000 volt prod is used or it is hit to make it burst out of the chute. To give the roper the best time, the calf must be running full tilt when it is roped, stopped short, knocked down and its feet tied. The rope around its neck causes multiple injuries to the underlying tissues in the neck such as the muscles, bones, ligaments, blood vessels, thyroid gland and trachea. Dr. Robert Bay, a veterinarian at the veterinary college in Colorado, autopsied roping calves and described the above injuries. These calves are used over and over and never get a chance to recover.
Bronc riding: In order to make the horse buck beyond normal bucking patterns, a flank strap is applied to the distal abdomen. It is not tight. It is an irritant. As all of you know who have ever ridden a horse with a double rigged saddle, if the rear cinch slides back the horse will buck. This is combined with driving the spurs into the shoulders of the horse. Without these two instruments of cruelty, the horse will not buck hard enough to give the rider points. It will “crow hop.” Also, horses enduring this pain and stress will often “buck blind” and crash into arena fences and grandstands. These collisions lead to injuries and sometimes death. A bucking horse in New Zealand tore off half of its hoof when it got tangled in the arena fence. Horses are injured and die in these events. Check out “SHARK rodeo” on YouTube for video documentation. At least two horses have died this year in rodeos in California.
Bull riding: Again, the flank strap is used to enhance the bucking. Causing a bull to buck beyond normal pasture bucking puts the bull at risk for injuries and broken legs are not uncommon. Two bulls broke their legs in New Zealand rodeos this summer. I was there. Again, check out YouTube for videos.
Steer wrestling: The rider jumps on the steer, twists its neck and forces it to lie down with all four feet extended. The neck is twisted to the extreme. A steer was killed in a New Jersey rodeo several years ago. Broken neck.
Many rodeos do not report injuries or deaths. However, the Calgary Stampede has reported 86 animal deaths since 1986, many of them horses. Eight horses were killed in one rodeo several years ago. This will give the reader an idea of what happens in rodeos in this country.
Abusing animals is not a family event. Teaching children that abusing animals is OK and fun is the wrong way to entertain a child. As a former state prosecutor, we know that violence against humans often begins with violence against animals. Serial killers are an example.
Vermonters, please do not attend this rodeo and advise your friends to stay away also.
