by Becky Robbins

Created on: June 27, 2009   Last Updated: August 30, 2009

To many, the rodeo is an exciting sport. To animal rights groups, it is no more than an uncivilized sport that should have no place in the civilized world.

Since the beginning of the rodeo, animal welfare groups have clashed with the sport. Today, those groups are continuing to take strides to protect animal welfare and rights. According to animal rights groups, animals involved in the rodeo suffer from fear, pain, and stress which can lead to injury and even death.

Animal welfare groups make their claims based on the tools used to torment animals. Some allegations made are that animals used in the rodeo events are not actually wild beasts. Instead, they have been raised in captivity; usually a farm setting. Animals raised in captivity tend to be docile and need to be pushed to act wildly and buck. Electric prods, spurs, and ropes or straps are the tools used to change the behavior of the animal. Electric prods are used just before releasing the animal. This initiates pain and fear. When the prod touches the animal's flesh, the animal will go wild. Some countries, such as Germany, have made electric prods illegal. However, cowboys wear spurs on their boots as well. Spurs harm the animal when they dig into the animal's skin. Ropes placed tightly around the animal's abdomen encourage the animal to buck. In reality, the animal is trying to get the agonizing pain off their body. Some former animal control officers have even reported to finding irritants, such as burrs, placed under the strap to increase the agony for the animal.

Sometimes when an animal has reached the end of its rodeo days, it is sent to the slaughter house. Those who have worked in slaughterhouses, like the late Dr. C.G. Haber, gave accounts of animals being so bruised that their head, neck, legs, and belly were the only areas where the skin was still attached to the flesh. Injuries have been reported to be so bad that bones are often broken, and sometimes puncture the lungs.

Even deaths occur during the rodeo. The speed at which an event takes place increases the risk of accidents happening. Accidents can occur both to the cowboy, although they take the risk voluntarily, as well as to the animals involved. It is not uncommon for an animal to crash into a wall or fence and break their neck.

Within the Rodeo association, there are rules in place regarding animal abuses. However, the rules are not strictly enforced, nor are the penalties severe enough to offer any protection to the animals. Since it is common for the animals to perform in more than one rodeo, they are loaded up into trailers and hauled to the next rodeo destination. Sometimes they go without sufficient food or water and sometimes without proper attention being paid to any injury they may face.

Although to some, the rodeo seems like an innocent form of entertainment and a way to showcase the old west, the animal rights groups feel otherwise. Groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the European Anti-Rodeo Coalition (EARC) feel that the rodeo takes pleasure in harming animals and stripping the animals of their dignity. Some feel that the animals suffer pain, injury, stress, and fear, all for the entertainment of a small percentage of the world.

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