Crossover to Child Abuse
Call it equal opportunity in the rodeo world. The rodeo Mafia is willing to injure and sometimes kill animals, but they are just as willing to put children at risk.
Child Fighting For His Life
A boy who fell from a sheep during a Texas 'mutton busting' event contracted E. coli and is now fighting for his life in a hospital.
The 3-year-old boy has been at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas, for several weeks and is being transferred this week to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for more specialized care. He has been unconscious.
Read the rest here.
A prime example is the annual rodeo in Wauconda, Illinois. The Wauconda rodeo has all the animal cruelty of any other rodeo. But the Wauconda Chamber of Commerce, which produces the rodeo, wanted to give its insensitive and often drunk rodeo attendees more "entertainment." So the Chamber includes an event that abuses not only animals, but also children!
The victims, some of whom are practically babies, are put on sheep. The sheep do not intend to hurt the youngsters. The scared animals are simply trying to rid themselves of whatever has been put on their backs. As a result, and as the newspaper columns and video clips on this site prove, many kids are hurt.
It is impossible to know the true extent of the children’s injuries. First, and most incredibly, the parents sign a waiver releasing the Chamber and rodeo from responsibility for injuring the children! Also, if these parents were to file a complaint against the rodeo for reckless endangerment, the parents could be liable for charges as well, as they willingly allowed their children to be put at risk.
So the children suffer, the parents keep their mouths shut, and the Wauconda Chamber of Commerce continues to entertain people who are so calloused, they are willing to laugh at the suffering of not only animals, but also youngsters!
Another more recent example is the Tucson Rodeo.
A February 2013 SHARK investigation into the Tucson, AZ rodeo revealed the shocking of horses at both. As if that wasn't enough, there was also animal injuries and child abuse thrown in for good measure, apparently all part of those "rodeo family values" we always hear rodeo announcers droning on about.
SHARK exposed what can only be described as severe child endangerment during the Dodge Mutton Bustin' event. Watch as parents amuse themselves by watching their 4-6 yr olds get thrown into metal fences, trampled and or dragged with their helmets flying off. The injured or limping children are then carried out of the arena in tears.