Rodeo Research Paper

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Rodeo: Harmless Sport or Animal Abuse? Rodeo is a sport that has existed for centuries in almost all corners of the Earth, but recently, animal rights groups have been targeting those involved with rodeo. Is Rodeo really animal abuse or is it a harmless sport? Rodeo was born in the middle of the 19th century. It started when two groups of cowboys met to settle a dispute over who was the best at performing everyday ranching tasks. This little argument sparked the first rodeo and the sport has been growing ever since (“Western Fest Stampede Rodeo”). The sport is loved by millions and is becoming more and more popular. The “Friends of Rodeo” is an organization that is dedicated to preserving our Western Heritage. Their website states the following:…show more content…
An example of this would be: “A rodeo patron at a California rodeo came to our booth concerned about some of the "cows" she saw in one of the pens. She assumed they might have tooth aches because they were wearing a leather device that encircled their face. What she had seen was the protective head gear, or "horn wraps", that is put on roping steers to prevent their heads from being rubbed by the rope as the slack is pulled around their horns in the team roping event.” (“About the Rodeo”). These cases are rare however. Most of the time, what is seen is what you get. More often than not, the torturing devices that you see are truly hurting the animals and are only meant to get the animals angry. For example, the “hotspot” is an electric rod used on the animal while it is captive in the chute. The intense pain frightens that animal so that it will buck and go crazy from the pain. Another tool would be the “bucking straps” that burn the animal’s abdomen and groin area and cause him to “buck” and can lead to back and leg injuries ("Rodeo Facts: The Case against Rodeos - Animal Legal Defense…show more content…
The animals used for the events are “second-chance” animals who would otherwise be sold to butchers and slaughter houses both in and out of the country. But is dying in an arena for entertainment a better way to die than that? No. Contestants have a choice on whether or not they want to ride; animals do not (“Rodeo LiveStock Welfare”). The stunts, the tools of torment, and the injuries and death are all factors that help prove that the sport of rodeo is cruel and unusual in the ways that it takes innocent animals and turns them into monsters for entertainment. Electric prods, sharp spurs, and other tools are used to physically harm animals. Video after video and case after case show animals being thrown around, tackled, choked, killed, and thrown aside. You wouldn’t clothesline a child, so why would you do it to a baby

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