by Marea E. Johnson

Created on: January 10, 2009   Last Updated: June 17, 2011

Rodeos are not only cruel to animals; but cruel to the world as a whole!

Is it any wonder we have children assaulting, torturing and murdering innocent animals and people not only in this country, but around the world, everyday? It's atrocities like rodeos that parents take their kids to, in the name of "family entertainment", that continue to desensitize them to the point of believing that it is not only "okay" to inflict pain on a defenseless living creature, but that it is "fun and harmless". Even more appalling is the fact that these children see the participants being labeled as "champions"and "heroes", who are financially rewarded as well!

Some people who have never attended a real rodeo, think they are harmless; often equating them to nothing more than a county fair with silly "cowboy clowns" running about, playing tricks on people and engaging in harmless antics with the animals.

But what they imagine couldn't be further from the truth, and I think if more people saw, whether in person, or preferably on video, what really happens to these poor animals, only the most mentally depraved and sadistic would ever attend one, much less actually pay good money to do so! But we'll shortly see why rodeos are not only NOT sport, but instead, the very EPITOME of animal cruelty.

For example, one of their acts known as "calf roping" consists of the taking of several 3-4 month old calves and caging them up for several days; oftentimes without food or water until the date of the show. This is done to make them weak, and unable to run very fast.

Then, when it's "showtime", they let the calf loose into the arena, where the crowd enjoys watching it run for its life while being terrorized and chased by a large horse and its rider. And in a matter of seconds, a rope is thrown around this baby animal's neck, and it is violently jerked back, causing it to flip over, often causing its spine and neck to snap.

And as if this weren't painful enough, the rider then jumps off of his horse and proceeds to "add insult to injury" by shoving his knees into its little ribs and head in an attempt to stop the injured and petrified animal from escaping. He then follows this up by "hog tying" its legs with a rope, flipping it back over, slamming it to the ground, and holding his arms up high in the air for the audience to cheer! And cheer they do!

Another popular act you will see at the rodeo is known as "steer wrestling and roping". It is very similar to the atrocity above, except that

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