Rodeos And The Cruelty To The Animals

Rodeos And The Cruelty To The Animals



Rodeos And The Cruelty To The Animals

Introduction

Animal rights stem from early animal welfare organizations. However, there is a difference between the two movements. Animal rights advocates believe in letting animals live according to their nature and not be used as commodities. These activists believe that animals are similar enough to humans to deserve serious moral consideration and deserve a life lived not according to human goals. Thus, they do not eat meat, dairy products, or eggs; they do not wear leather, fur, or wool products; and they do not patronize corporations that produce these items or participate in animal testing.

Discussion

Animal welfare advocates believe that animals may not be able to reason, but they still feel pain and can suffer. This view differs from the animal rights perspective in that they can be used as commodities but must be treated humanely. Another term often used in animal rights circles is speciesism. Speciesism is the unjust discrimination of members of other species.

Around 4000 rodeo stock are used in horse and bull riding events in some 600 rodeos held around Australia each year. This is in addition to an unknown number of calves and steers used in roping events (1).

The standard 6 rodeo events are:

calf roping

steer wrestling

team roping

saddle bronc riding

bareback bronc riding

bull riding

There may also be events for women, such as barrel racing or breakaway roping.

Rodeos are supposed to use contract stock, that is, animals who are used to handling and the rodeo environment. There are around 50 stock contractors who supply such stock (1). However, in more remote areas organisers may use any animals that are locally available. Rodeos are stressful for all animals, but even more so for non-contract stock who are unused to handling.

Calf roping

In this event, a calf is released from a chute and chased on horseback. Once the calf has been lassoed around the neck, the horse skids to a halt, the rider leaps from the saddle, and then throws the calf to the ground. To get points, any 3 legs must be tied within 30 seconds of the calf being released from the chute. The frightened calf is travelling at high speed when lassoed, and therefore hits the end of the rope with great force. The force can be strong enough to jerk the calf off its feet and into the air. One study found that the average speed of calves was 27 miles per hour, and that they hit the end of the rope with 2020 pounds of force.

Bucking events

In all bucking events the aim of the riders is to stay on the animal for 8 seconds after it is released from the chute. Horses are ridden either with a saddle and lead rope, or only with a girth strap and handle to hold on to (bareback). On bulls, a rope is pulled around the ...