Rodeos are animal cruelty, pure and simple. Rodeos take docile animals and try to
make them seem aggressive. Calves are violently roped and jerked by their necks
before being slammed to the ground. Bulls and horses are tormented in the
chutes prior to release into the ring. They are forced to wear
bucking straps, and the rider uses spurs, which dig into the animals'
flesh. Injuries to animals, such as deep internal organ bruising,
hemorrhaging, bone fractures, ripped tendons, and torn ligaments and
muscles, are all expected and anticipated in the violent tradition. National
animal protection organizations such as The Humane Society of the
United States and the ASPCA
oppose rodeos.
California Rodeo in Salinas,
California is no exception. According to
a cruelty investigator at Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, a horse's leg was broken
during a bucking event, but the poor horse was still forced to buck. The horse, allegedly, was left to suffer for
45 minutes before being killed.
Rodeos stay in operation from
corporate sponsors. Macy's,
for instance, is a sponsor of California Rodeo. When I wrote to Macy's Board of Directors
about their funding of such cruelty, their response was that they are proud to
sponsor rodeos. They continued, "Macy's
supports the rodeo's commitment to livestock safety and welfare, including
ensuring the proper medical services on site to ensure prompt and professional
care if any injuries occur." Macy's
excuses are sickening. If the rodeo
truly had a commitment to safety and welfare, they would close up shop. Furthermore, there would be no need to
provide prompt care if there was no animal abuse in the first place!
Horse Injured at California Rodeo by William McMullin
Tell Macy's to stop sponsoring animal cruelty:
Macy's funds animal abuse by SHARK