Rodeos? I bet you are thinking "There's no way rodeos are still are" Well turns out they are. But for those who aren't sure what a rodeo is, it's a an exhibition match which cowboys show their skill at riding broncos, roping calves, wrestling steers and whatever other barnyard animal. Rodeos are popular in the western United States and is the official state sport of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Texas. Here's something you may not know, The animals who participate actually undergo physical harm and trauma, And unfortunately the audience who decides to spectates doesn't see the animals suffering. Allow me to explain.

🐂 Instruments of torturer🐂

Whomever handles the animals has to provoke them in order to make the cowboys appear more impressive and courageous. In order for the animals to "cooperate" the rodeos use certain tools to make the animals seem for agitated. Besides the metal spurs of the cowboy boots the tool they happen to use are hotshots, an electric prod used on the animal while captive in the chute. The intense pain scares the animal into displaying abnormally dramatic reactions. And bucking straps, This particular tool is used to burn the animal’s abdomen and groin area and cause him to “buck” and can lead to back and leg injuries.

🐎The main events🐎

If you remember what I said earlier, the events that occur in a rodeo are riding broncos, roping calves, wrestling steers. There's also steer busting, bull riding and there's also some rodeos that having wild cow milking and sheep mutton busting. Let me break down what these event are and how they hurt the animals.

Calf Roping: A mounted rider yanks a calf into the air by her neck, slams her into the ground, and ties her legs together. During this performance, calves may cry out (if they can breathe), defecate from fear and stress, and suffer neck injuries and death.

Steer Busting: A rider ropes a steer with such force the steer flips in the air. The injury and death rates are so high that the Nevada State Veterinarian has condemned the practice.

Steer Wrestling: In this event the steer endures a high level of stress and can suffer ripped tendons, sprains and bruising, and even a broken neck.

Bull Riding and Bronco Riding: bucking straps, electric prods, and spurs are used to hurt the animal and aggravate him into reacting more roughly than he would naturally as a rider is mounted on the animal's back.

Wild Cow Milking: A distressed mother cow is separated from her calf and forced into arena. Two men on horseback chase her down, violently rope her, and then forcibly milk her.

Mutton Busting: Children as young as four are allowed to ride petrified sheep as part of a competition. Injuries to children are not uncommon.

So as you can see rodeos are death sentence, and all for the price of entertainment. Isn't that horrifying? They suffer broken ribs, backs, and legs, torn tails, punctured lungs, internal organ damage, ripped tendons, torn ligaments, snapped necks, and agonizing deaths just for a few laughs. I find this unacceptable.

🐑How can you help🐑

There are many ways that you can help the animals that are forced to be in rodeos.

• Do not attend rodeo events.
• Ask local authorities to verify that proper rodeo permits have been obtained.
• Demonstrate and distribute leaflets at the gates of the events.
• Write letters to sponsors of the events and boycott their businesses.
• Contact your local law enforcement agency or humane society and ask them to ensure rodeos follow local and state laws regarding the humane treatment of animals.
• Educate family, friends and people who love animals about the animal welfare problems and safety concerns related to rodeo events.
• Lobby your representatives to institute a state or local ban on calf roping (this is an event in which cruelty is most easily documented). Since most rodeo circuits require calf roping, eliminating it can result in the overall elimination of rodeos.
• Fight for state and federal laws that protect animals and raise the standards of care.
• You can sign petitions like this one.

I hope this has helped you to understand why rodeos are horrible towards animals. If you have a heart then you shouldn't be horsing around!