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Dear Editor:
Rodeos are inherent animal cruelty, pure and simple. Rodeos take docile animals and try to make them seem aggressive. Bulls and horses are tormented in the chutes prior to release into the ring. They are forced to wear bucking straps, and the rider uses spurs, which dig into the animals' flesh. One rodeo cowboy said of bucking straps and electric prods, "If you can't use those devices, then you have no rodeo" (Pittsburgh Tribune Review Dec. 26, 2000).
Injuries to animals, such as deep internal organ bruising, hemorrhaging, bone fractures, ripped tendons, and torn ligaments and muscles, are all expected and anticipated in the violent tradition.
Rodeos stay in operation by contributions from companies such as The Kroger Company based in Ohio. Companies such as Kroger need to realize that violently roping calves to the ground by their necks while they run up to 27 miles per hour is not entertainment.
Sincerely,
William McMullin
Mt. Morris, MI 48458
Rodeos are inherent animal cruelty, pure and simple. Rodeos take docile animals and try to make them seem aggressive. Bulls and horses are tormented in the chutes prior to release into the ring. They are forced to wear bucking straps, and the rider uses spurs, which dig into the animals' flesh. One rodeo cowboy said of bucking straps and electric prods, "If you can't use those devices, then you have no rodeo" (Pittsburgh Tribune Review Dec. 26, 2000).
Injuries to animals, such as deep internal organ bruising, hemorrhaging, bone fractures, ripped tendons, and torn ligaments and muscles, are all expected and anticipated in the violent tradition.
Rodeos stay in operation by contributions from companies such as The Kroger Company based in Ohio. Companies such as Kroger need to realize that violently roping calves to the ground by their necks while they run up to 27 miles per hour is not entertainment.
Sincerely,
William McMullin
Mt. Morris, MI 48458