Voice of Animals welfare group calls Edmonton rodeo 'brutal'

Thanks for you comments Blue Crush.

"more likelihood of injuries to the cowboys than there is to the livestock."So what?? The cowboys come to EARN MONEY while those who watch these events go for "sick" entertainment at the cost of animals who can't speak for themselves. Its sheer human greed and twisted minds at play.Shame on organizers and supporters.

Thanks for your comments.

Gee, or the calves could be born into nature and get torn apart at birth by some predator or other.

ty for this story

You.re very welcome:)

Most folks actually in the rodeo LOVE their animals. The bulls? They would brutalize anything in their path, in or out of the rodeo. Like ownin a pit bull.

Having been to rodeos in California, I can attest that the trainers and owners do in fact take very good care of their animals....

However....two things that have always disturbed / disgusted me with rodeos....How would you like it, ACP, if I tied a rope around your testicles and jumped on your back?  How would you like it if I told you (or better yet, a 5 year old relative of yours) to run full speed away from me, while I throw this rope around your (his) neck and jerk you (him) backwards to the ground? (calf roping, for anyone who didn't follow that vague little story)

You know by now I respect you and your opinions, so please understand that I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm just curious how these two examples are not abuse ?

Rodeo was born out of a rich tradition based on the skills required of cowboys of the West.  Calf roping appears to be the one event left that some describe as barbaric.  Branding was the worse, and I don't believe this is still practiced.  A better perspective of what rodeo is and how it evolved might expand our knowledge. 

Horsemanship skills date back to the Spanish Conquistadors when Spain held much of the land in the Western U.S., and missions were built along the El Camino Real with the distance from each other being one day's ride apart.  The padres who ran the missions were sons of Spanish nobility and trained in horsemanship that they passed on to workers on the missions known as Vaqueros. But it wasnt until after American took the lands in 1848 and after the Civil War that herds spread and the American Cowboy emerged.  

The standardized events for National Rodeo are bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, bull riding, and some include barrel racing that is dominated by female equestrians.  Rodeo that is seen today evolved from stock horse shows that evolved around the disciplines of reining, reined cow horse and cutting, and usually included amateur riders and professionals.  These stock event competitions were held at the end of a cattle drive or round up where cowboys could suppliment their income. 

Today's rodeo show is the result of the end of the open range toward the end of the 19th century with the expansion of the railroads for transporting cattle and the introduction of barbed wire.  The need for long cattle drives ended, and range lands were being divided among homesteaders and settlers of the West.  This brought the end of the cowboy lifestyle. 

A new phenonmenon was emerging.  The Wild West show with people like Buffalo Bill Cody saw an opporunity to bring the West at a theater event and cowboy competition to people across America, and it was a profitable business.  Without the wild west show, these men who were so important to the cattle industry would have been left destitute, and many were, but the ones who were able to transision to the these shows and later rodeo kept their part of Americana preserved.     

MBenson

In the U.S., events like bullfighting, cockfighting, dog fighting are cruel and illegal events involving animals. 

Rodeo does not involve cruelty to human beings, and your making that comparison is invalid.

I don't view you as being ostricized MBenson.  You are entitled to your opinions just as much as any of us. 

Yes, some rodeo events are dangerous and if you want to focus on them entirely with sympathy for riders, I understand your point of view. I only add that anytime a person rides a horse in any equestrian event, be it rodeo or Olympic competition, there is an element of danger.  This is why events are standardized with rules and regulations for the safety of competitors and the animals.  

However, there are many events involving horsemanship and horsewomanship that are unique and amazing.  I have had the opportunity to see some of these rodeo events.  Please indulge me here whilst I reminiscence.  Some events involve the rider controlling their horse without the use of their hands holding the reins.  A horse can open and close a gate and also perform herding skills.  Skills required for ranching are varied and are not exclusively for roping.  

I give respect to all points of view whether its animal rights or human rights.  To discredit rights of opinion infringes on the rights of all of us.  There are certain rights and limitations to which civilized societies ascribe.  Groups such as animal rights' groups, like any group, have their extremists, but they are necessary to ensure ethics are a consideration. 

To address the relationship between man and animals, we would have to go back to ancient times and the reasons for domestication of farm animals.  When ancient man became a farmer he learned that keeping animals in herds close to home was better than chasing wild game.  The "team" approach you suggest was initially for the provision of food, namely meat and milk products.  The animals were not "asked" to be domesticated, but were more or less "tamed" into peaceful co-habitation.  It is noteworthy that later as man built homes, the animals usually had the first floor and the family living above them.  The relationships between man and animal is not much different than the domestication of grains that selected for higher yields suitable to the terrain.

We don't have to look further than our relationship with out pets to understand the need for humans to relate to the animal world, and its roots reach far back into our civilization.  Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated, and it wasn't for food.  They were bred for appearance, size, and amiablility.  They were man's first animal companion.     

a rodeo can be perceived as nothing more than animal abuse?

You used an important word there:  Perceive.  You know the saying perception is reality.  However, one person's reality might not be someone elses. 

If a person views rodeo as animal abuse, then what would they think of how chickens and cattled are housed for the production of food? How chickens are on a 12 hours schedule of darkness and artificial light so they will lay eggs more often?   Or that veal is baby calves fed only milk and then slaughtered? Or how animals are used for experiementation? To me, these are far worse than any rodeo event I have seen or heard of.

To me, rodeo is way down the list if we want to get into abuse of animals.  And I am not getting off the topic, just putting it into perspective from my point of view. 

Don't forget foie gras......Bit cruel to the geese.

We fundamentally agree, A, and I think you're absolutely right about the long list of animal abuses in this country being worse than rodeo; I'm just saying that for SOME people rodeo IS on the list, and obviously the "Voice of Animals Welfare" group is 'some people'.

Baseball. Made of skin - horse skin. 

Football? Pigskin, no less.

Hockey? All the players are animals, thus the worst of the lot.