A letter writer recently asserted that "Throwing calves or steers is a way of life here." In 2020, when cruelty to animals is condemned, that mindset must change.
Countless animals have paid with their lives to satisfy people’s desire to play cowboy. Cattle are zapped with electric hotshots so they'll charge out of the chute, calves have their necks are twisted as they are violently slammed into the ground, and horses are viciously spurred into bucking. Animals have suffered broken backs and necks, heart attacks, and aneurysms.
Those who manage to make it through unscathed are given little time to rest or recuperate. They are loaded into trucks, hauled to the next event, and forced to participate over and over again. "Retirement” is a one way trip to the slaughterhouse.
People who care about animals want rodeo to be put out to pasture.
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Jennifer OConnor
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
