tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383741895455123821.post1944705332443573442..comments2024-02-04T14:05:34.412-08:00Comments on Rim Country Gazette: ‘Toughest sport on dirt’ raises questions about animal crueltyJames Keyworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16778065398076170813noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383741895455123821.post-40276835507460620162016-07-06T13:28:22.475-07:002016-07-06T13:28:22.475-07:00We should all burn in Hell for what we do to anima...We should all burn in Hell for what we do to animals on a daily basis. Be aware that EVERY major animal welfare organization in the U.S., Canada and Australia condemns rodeos due to their inherent cruelty.<br /><br />Here's a favored quote from an eighteen-year-old rodeo queen in Oregon: "What me and my rodeo friends really hate are Democrats, environmentalists and gays." Lovely. (In the book, "Rodeo Queens and the American Dream," by Prof. Joan Burbick.) Rodeo is symptomatic of much of what is wrong with this country, indeed the world: machismo and domination over others. It needs to stop.<br /><br />To refer to rodeo animals as "athletes" is absurd. Racing greyhounds and thoroughbred horses, maybe. Those animals ARE trained. Not so the rodeo's livestock. The horses and bulls are driven to their bizarre behaviors in the arena via spurs, "hotshots," flank straps, kicks and slaps.<br /><br />Most of rodeo is bogus from the git-go. REAL working cowboys never routinely rode bulls, or wrestled steers, or rode bareback, or practiced calf roping (babies!) as a timed event. It's all hype to put fannies in the seats (read: $$$).<br /><br />The $$ value of the horses and bulls has nothing to do with what they endure in the arena. I've noted over the years that the cowboys NEVER name the steers, cows and calves. It's only the bulls and horses. Go figger.<br /><br />For most of these animals, rodeo is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. Must we therefore torture, torment and not infrequently cripple them before we eat them. Some "sport"!<br /><br />BOYCOTT ALL RODEOS. Even Pope Francis and Cesar Chavez are/were opposed.Eric Millsnoreply@blogger.com