Rodeos

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Rodeos in Australia

Around 4000 rodeo stock are used in horse and bull riding events in some 600 rodeos held around Australia each year. This is in addition to an unknown number of calves and steers used in roping events (1).

The standard 6 rodeo events are:

There may also be events for women, such as barrel racing or breakaway roping.

Rodeos are supposed to use contract stock, that is, animals who are used to handling and the rodeo environment. There are around 50 stock contractors who supply such stock (1). However, in more remote areas organisers may use any animals that are locally available. Rodeos are stressful for all animals, but even more so for non-contract stock who are unused to handling.

Roping and wrestling events

Calf roping

In this event, a calf is released from a chute and chased on horseback. Once the calf has been lassoed around the neck, the horse skids to a halt, the rider leaps from the saddle, and then throws the calf to the ground. To get points, any 3 legs must be tied within 30 seconds of the calf being released from the chute.

The frightened calf is travelling at high speed when lassoed, and therefore hits the end of the rope with great force. The force can be strong enough to jerk the calf off its feet and into the air. One study found that the average speed of calves was 27 miles per hour, and that they hit the end of the rope with 2020 pounds of force (2).

The Australian Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) has introduced some rules in an attempt to reduce trauma to the calves. According to the voluntary APRA Code of Practice, calves should be in the weight range 100kg-130kg. However, as Dr Hugh Wirth of RSPCA Australia has said: "... there is no body weight you can enact that will stop the cruelty associated with calf roping " (1).

Another rule is that contestants must have a roping device attached to the saddle. This is a 13cm metal frame with several cross bars. A slack, 15cm piece of rope is drawn through these cross bars when the calf comes to the end of the rope. The aim is to reduce the harm caused by an abrupt stop. However, it is unlikely that a roping device will eliminate the bruising caused by a rope pulled around the neck, although it may reduce the chances of the calf being pulled off its feet.

If the calf is pulled backwards off its feet ("jerked down"), the contestant will be disqualified. If the rope horse drags the calf once it is tied, the contestant will also be disqualified. These rules hopefully make the cowboys more careful, but they don't help the calves who are jerked off their feet. It still happens, and it still hurts.

Steer wrestling

In this event a steer is released and chased by 2 riders. One rider keeps the steer running in a straight line, while the other grabs the steer by the horns and leaps from his horse. He twists the steer's neck to force him to fall to the ground. The contestant has 30 seconds from the time the steer is released to throw him to the ground.

Apart from the stress of this brutal treatment, it can also injure the neck of the steer. Strained muscles and tendons are painful, but are not visible to the observer.

Team roping

When the steer is released from the chute, a pair of horsemen attempt to rope him within 30 seconds. One rope must be around the horns, neck or half a head, while the other must be around the back legs. A correctly roped steer is stretched between the horses and will usually fall to the ground.

Bucking events

In all bucking events the aim of the riders is to stay on the animal for 8 seconds after it is released from the chute. Horses are ridden either with a saddle and lead rope, or only with a girth strap and handle to hold on to (bareback). On bulls, a rope is pulled around the girth.

All horses and bulls buck because of the flank strap that is pulled tightly around their groin. Animals don't buck because they are wild or mean. They buck because the flank strap irritates them, and they stop bucking as soon as it is taken off. Imagine a strap pulled tight around your groin, and you'll know why animals so frantically try to rid themselves of it.

In an experiment by the Humane Society (US), 2 gentle horses bucked when a flank strap was applied. On the other hand, rodeo horses didn't buck when there was no flank strap (3).

To further increase bucking, riders are allowed to wear spurs with rowels, that is, star-shaped wheels. The rowels are supposed to be loose so that they roll, and they aresupposed to be blunt.

In addition, bulls in particular are often given an electric shock as the gate of the chute is opened. A hand held prod is used to deliver a shock to the shoulder or rump. The APRA Code of Practice says that electric prods should not be routinely used, but observations at country rodeos show that they are.

Animals can become very distressed in the chute and try to scramble over the top or fall down. The APRA Code of Practice acknowledges this problem, and states that animals must be released if they repeatedly go down, repeatedly try to jump out of the chute, become excessively excited, or are in danger of injuring themselves.

In South Australia and Victoria it is compulsory to have a veterinarian in attendance. However, vets can't prevent injuries. They can only treat injuries after the event, or euthanase severely injured animals.

Injuries in rodeo events

A rodeo stock contractor admitted: "... horses can pull muscles and suffer skin abrasions and minor leg injuries. Occasionally a bucking horse may break a leg " (1).

However, injuries can also be much worse. In Victoria, vets have to report serious injuries. Between 1986 and 1990 they reported 29 injuries, including 12 deaths. The deaths included:

According to the Victorian Bureau of Animal Welfare, between 1992 and 1997: In addition to these serious and sometimes fatal injuries, dozens more animals suffered visible cuts and bruises. A few horses had wounds from the horns of cattle. And of course there could be other, internal injuries that are not visible from the outside.

Occasional media reports highlight the cruelty and danger of rodeos. In October 1990 in Derwent (Tasmania), a horse rammed into a steel fence and broke its neck (4). Another horse in Laura (Queensland) died when he fell on his neck. His body was winched out of the arena by a police 4-wheel drive " to join the skeletons of last year's casualties behind the ring " (The Age Sept 1985).

In one study, two calves were roped by a professional member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association in the US. One calf was roped once, the other five times. When they were killed and autopsied, both calves had haemorrhaging in the thymus gland and the trachea (windpipe), while the calf who was repeatedly roped also had subcutaneous haemorrhaging. In other words, both calf had extensive internal bleeding and bruising that wasn't visible from the outside. The calves also had laboured or difficult breathing as a result of the pressure of the rope. The author of the study concluded:

" It must be realised that this study with the calves in no way concludes that the injuries which occurred are the only injuries that can or will occur. As I have seen, legs can be broken, and I'm sure that further injuries of the neck structures are possible especially if a calf is used over and over for roping in a practice arena. And although these changes may not be permanent, they do occur and when they do, must cause great distress and discomfort to the animals. Anyone who has choked on a foreign object, or has had trouble breathing, knows that it is not a very pleasant feeling " (2).

A US vet with 30 years experience as a meat inspector saw many calves sent to slaughter from rodeos. He reported seeing massive bruising under the skin and broken ribs, injuries that would probably not be noticed in the live animal (3).

The RSPCA took the organisers of the 1982 World Cup Rodeo in Melbourne to court for cruelty in calf roping. One of the 13 calves was destroyed after the event (4).

The Melbourne Age commented in its editorial: " Calf roping is about as sporting as live coursing and koala shoots. It should suffer the same fate: oblivion " (5/1/1982).

RSPCA Australia is opposed to rodeos because of this constant risk of injury.

References

  1. Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare, Equine Welfare in Competitive Events Other Than Racing, Senate Printing Unit, Canberra, 1991
  2. Kritsberg R, "Potential abuses in rodeo calf roping", Report, Summer 1972, Fort Collins, Colorado
  3. PETA, "Rodeo: Cruelty for a Buck" at http://www.peta-online.org
  4. ANZFAS, "Rodeos", submission to the Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare, Melbourne, 1990