SAFE : Rodeo abuse

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RODEO CRUELTY COMMENCES

This month kicks off the 2010 national rodeo circuit, which means animals around the country will be goaded, tormented and abused for our entertainment. The most recent rodeo was the Richmond Rodeo on 16 January in the Nelson region. If you're in Nelson, please write to the main sponsors asking them to refrain from supporting the Richmond Rodeo in the future.

Contact the Nelson rodeo sponsors who support animal abuse

Combo Marketing. Click here to call or email.

Radio Hauraki, Mike McElhinney, General Manager. Email mikemcelhinney@radionetwork.co.nz or phone: 03 548 106. PO Box 43, Nelson.

The Stables restaurant, 1 McGlashen Ave, Richmond, Nelson. Call 03 544 224.

What's wrong with rodeos?

DOMINATION:
Rodeos are promoted as rough and tough exercises of human skill and courage featuring cowboys conquering the fierce, untamed beasts of the Wild West. In reality, rodeos are nothing more than manipulative displays of human domination over animals, thinly disguised as entertainment. What began in the 1800s as a skill contest among cowboys has become a show motivated by greed and big profits.

PROVOKED & ABUSED:
Standard rodeo events include calf roping, steer wrestling, bareback horse and bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer roping and barrel racing. The animals used in rodeos are captive performers. Most are relatively tame but understandably distrustful of human beings because of the harsh treatment that they have received. Many of these animals are not aggressive by nature; they are physically provoked into displaying "wild" behaviour to make the cowboys look brave.

DELIBERATELY TORMENTED:
Traditionally electric prods, spurs and bucking straps are used to irritate and enrage animals used in rodeos. The flank or "bucking" strap or rope used to make horses and bulls buck is usually tightly cinched around their abdomens. This causes the animals to buck vigorously to try to rid themselves of the torment, which is what the rodeo promoters want the animals to do in order to put on a good show for the crowds.

Cattle and horses may be prodded with an electrical "hotshot" to clear them from the chute, which can cause intense pain to the animals.

Calves roped while running routinely have their necks tugged back by the lasso, which can result in neck injuries.

INJURED:
Although rodeo cowboys voluntarily risk injury by participating in events, the animals they use have no such choice. Because speed is a factor in many rodeo events, accidents and injuries are likely. Animals can sustain painful injuries and in some cases, these are so severe the animals die or are killed on site.

FLANK STRAP:
Flank straps are fitted tightly around the animal's abdomen where there is no rib cage protection, to encourage horses to buck. One US study indicates that even horses with a gentle temperament can be induced to buck when fitted with a flank strap. The same study demonstrated that rodeo circuit horses did not buck when released from a pen without flank straps.

SPURS:
Traditionally, spurs are also used to encourage animals to buck. Defenders of rodeos claim that provided that the spurs are blunt and if the rowels are fixed the animal is not harmed by their use. However an American vet and ex-rodeo performer claims that repeated blunt injury from spur use causes tissue damage which gets worse each time the animal is used and it is her belief that spurs should be banned.

CALF ROPING:
Traditionally, calf roping is the most cruel rodeo practice. Calf roping is a timed event and is carried out as quickly as possible for maximum points. Calves are `encouraged' to run from the chute when it is opened by tail twisting and electric cattle prods to reach top speeds of up to 35 km per hour. When stopped in mid-flight by the rope they may sustain severe injuries or be killed when they hit the end of the rope at top speed, are jerked off their feet, slammed to the ground and their legs tied together.

POOR EDUCATION:
Rodeos are disrespectful to animals and desensitise viewers to violence to animals. The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights says "children watching these events cannot help but become brutalised and conditioned to regard nonhuman animals simply as objects to be used at the whim of humans."

City of Peace, not bucking brutality

COUNCIL GOT THE MESSAGE!

SAFE has mounted another successful campaign to highlight the cruelty of rodeos. A light aircraft was chartered to tow a 50-metre banner with the message ‘AKL CAN, WE CAN, CCC BAN RODEOS' over the city urging Christchurch City Council to follow Auckland's lead, and ban rodeos. SAFE's very clear message was seen by tens of thousands of Cantabrians and featured in The Press and on TV3 news.

For the second year in a row the International Rodeo brought its cruel spectacle to Christchurch, and once again was met by strong opposition from SAFE. SAFE called on the mayor of Christchurch, Bob Parker, to follow the example set by Auckland city and withdraw the council's support for the rodeo. The International Rodeo is attempting to become a fixture during the city's New Zealand Cup and Show Week, but SAFE is determined to turn Christchurch into a rodeo-free city.

Auckland mayor John Banks lent his support to SAFE's campaign: "The gross spectacle of animal torture masquerading as a rodeo would never happen in Auckland," said Mr Banks.

TV3 news promptly interviewed Mayor Banks, who did not mince his words about the rodeo and urged Christchurch to ban rodeos. Mayor Parker was unfortunately somewhat defensive about his council's involvement with the rodeo but did say that he would listen to bodies like the SPCA to make judgement about rodeos.

"Mayor Parker's statement about the SPCA is important," says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek. "The SPCA is strongly opposed to rodeos, so if Mayor Parker is true to his word, he will need to reconsider the council's support for the rodeo."

SAFE's opposition to the rodeo in Christchurch will continue until the council decides to live up to the city's status as a Peace City. In 2002 Christchurch elected to adopt this title and set in place programs to make the city a less violent place.

"Clearly, the abuse of animals in rodeos does not fit in with this aim and I believe that the council, once it has considered all the facts, will no longer back this cruel form of entertainment," says Hans.

VIEW STORY

SAFE successfully secures rodeo ban

SAFE has applauded the Auckland City Council for their landmark decision to ban rodeos from council-owned land within Auckland. SAFE campaign officer Eliot Pryor presented evidence of injuries suffered by animals performing in New Zealand rodeos.

Eliot also explained to the councillors the extreme stress that rodeo animals are forced to endure so that they ‘perform.' SAFE made a submission to the council under proposed new animal bylaws.

"The rodeo is an outdated and inherently cruel way of treating animals and sets a terrible example, especially for a younger audience. We welcome the Council's decision and commend them for taking the issue seriously," says Eliot.

SAFE believes the council's ban will thwart efforts by an international rodeo promoter to bring a proposed rodeo spectacle to Auckland as part of Rugby World Cup in 2011. Craig Douglas organised New Zealand's first international indoor rodeo held last year in Christchurch, which was fiercely opposed by SAFE.

Correspondence to Mr Douglas from Councillor Cathy Casey following the council's decision highlights the diverse support for the ban within the Council. She writes: "Mr Banks and I don't agree on too much politically but on animal rights he has my complete backing."

"Rodeos are turning into extravagant pyrotechnic-charged spectacles in an effort to attract a new inner-city audience, however these events are still founded on abusing animals. The Auckland City Council's decision sends a strong message to the rodeo industry that Auckland does not tolerate animal cruelty," says Mr Kriek.

Have your say!

SAFE members and the general public are passionately writing into their local newspaper. Here is one recent example:

Dear Editor

Congratulations to the Auckland City Council for taking a stance against rodeos. I was taken to a rodeo as a teenager and saw a horse fall and break its neck. The horse was put down, had a rope tied around its neck and was dragged out of the arena by a 4x4 quad bike and the entertainment carried on. I was horrified. Do we want to teach our children that it is okay to use and abuse animals? It's about time this cruelty against animals for entertainment's sake was outlawed. Claims have been made that rodeos are not violent against animals however anyone who has watched this horrible spectacle will know that flank straps and electric prods are used to get a desired reaction from the animal. The fact that the animal is only in the ring for a few seconds does not justify the violence, stress, risk of injury and death that the animals are subjected to.
Hannah Spierer

IS THE RODEO COMING NEAR YOU?

Click here to view rodeo tour dates.

IN THE MEDIA

Auckland city council victory!

Congratulations to the Auckland City Council for sticking up for rodeo animals! In a New Zealand first, the Auckland City Council banned rodeos from using council land on animal welfare grounds.

SAFE challenges first indoor rodeo

New Zealand's first indoor rodeo, the JetStar International Rodeo, didn't go unchallenged for causing needless abuse on animals. SAFE held a demonstration outside the Westpac Arena in Christchurch to remind those attending that they were supporting the cruel treatment of rodeo animals.

SAFE is concerned that the New Zealand rodeo promoters are endeavouring to attract a new type of audience by bringing this cruel spectacle indoors closer to urban populations but not without the aid of exciting stage shows and pyrotechnic displays. Traditionally, rodeos have attracted the more conservative, rural farming type supporter.

"Events like this are not possible without the support of sponsors and SAFE has written to rodeo sponsors expressing its concern and seeking reassurances that they will no longer support rodeos," says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

"Even large companies can't afford to alienate and lose customers through controversial sponsorship deals so it is important that as many people as possible contact rodeo sponsors to voice their disapproval."

Tongue & cheek!

Dr Clive Dalton, former agricultural scientist and now author and technical editor of the Lifestyleblock online magazine, challenges Minister Cosgrove for supporting rodeos.
Click to read