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Rodeo Cruelty

Anyone with a heart knows it's wrong to clothesline a baby animal, body slam it to the ground, tie its legs so it can’t move, and drag it by the neck. If this were done to a puppy or kitten, the offender would understandably be charged with a crime, and likely be jailed. In rodeos, however, it's called calf roping, and supporters claim it’s a sport. But the abuse of baby cows is just one of rodeo’s cruelties. 

Organizations Worldwide That are Opposed to Rodeo Animal Abuse

We, the following humane organizations, are opposed to the cruelty and abuse of animals in rodeos.

Click here for information about locations with prohibitions and/or restrictions on rodeos or rodeo events

  1. A-1 Poor Fund Foundation/Cochin, India
  2. Action Against Poisoning/The Hague, Netherlands www.actionagainstpoisoning.com
  3. Activists Against Factory Farming/Pine Ridge, AR
  4. Adopt an Animal Canada/Toronto www.adoptananimal.ca
  5. Advocates for Animals/Edinburgh, UK www.advocatesforanimals.org
  6. Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania/Hobard, Tasmania www.gbr.wwf.org.au
  7. Aid for Animals/Metairie, LA www.aidforanimals.com
  8. All Species Kinship/Battle Creek, Michigan
  9. Alliance Against Animal Abuse/Albuquerque, NM
  10. American Humane Association/Arlington, VA www.americanhumane.org
  11. American Sanctuary Association/Las Vegas, NV
  12. Anima- foreningen for alle dyrs rettigheder/Denmark www.pelsinfo.dk
  13. Animal Active/Melbourne, Australia www.animalactive.org
  14. Animal Advocates of the Inland North West/Liberty Lake, WA www.animaladvocatesnw.org
  15. Animal Advocates Society of British Columbia www.animaladvocates.com
  16. Animal Alliance of Canada/Toronto, Canada www.animalalliance.ca
  17. Animal Angels/Jacksboro, TX www.anmlangls.org
  18. Animal Concern/UK Dumbarton, Scotland www.animalconcern.com
  19. Animal Defense League, Los Angeles www.animaldefense.com
  20. Animal Legal Defense Fund/Petaluma, CA www.aldf.org
  21. Animal Legislative Action Network/Los Angeles, CA www.animalpolitics.com
  22. Animal Place/Vacaville, CA www.animalplace.org
  23. Animal Liberation Front/www.animalliberationfront.com
  24. Animal Liberation NSW/Sydney, Australia www.animal-lib.org.au
  25. Animal Liberation (SA), Inc./Adelaide, Australia www.animalliberation.org.au
  26. Animal Protection Agency/Brighton, UK www.apa.org.uk
  27. Animal Rescue Foundation/Fossil, OR
  28. Animal Rights Advocates of Upstate New York/Rochester, NY www.ARAUNY.org
  29. Animal Rights Direct Action Coalition/San Francisco, CA
  30. Animal Rights Fund/Bangalore, India
  31. Animal Rights Online/Miami, FL www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395
  32. Animal Rights Resource Centre/Australia www.arrc.org.au
  33. Animals Australia/Victoria, Australia www.animalsaustralia.org
  34. The Animals Voice/www.animalsvoice.com
  35. Animal 2000-Menschen fur Tierrechte Bayern e.V./Germany www.animal2000.de
  36. Anti-Vivisection Union/East Victoria Park, Western Australia www.arrc.org.au
  37. Arche 2000 Welt-Tierhilfe e.V./Germany www.animalnews.de
  38. Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights/Davis, CA www.avar.org
  39. ARC news/UK www.arcnews.org.uk
  40. Ark II – The Animal Rights Kollective/Toronto, CA www.ark-ii.com
  41. Ark Wild Inc./Miami, FL www.arkwild.org
  42. Auckland Animal Action/New Zealand www.enzyme.org.nz/aucklandanimalaction
  43. Austin Zoo/Austin, TX www.austinzoo.com
  44. Ballarat Organisation for Animal Rights/Australia www.goldlinksweb.com/boar
  45. Beauty Without Cruelty (S.A.)/South Africa
  46. Big Cat Rescue/Tampa, FL www.BigCatRescue.org
  47. Bite Back Vegan Society
  48. Brooklyn Law School Animal Legal Defense Fund
  49. The California Animal Defense & Anti-Vivisection League, Inc./Gardena, CA
  50. California Lobby for Animal Welfare
  51. The Captive Animals’ Protection Society/Preston, UK www.captiveanimals.org
  52. Catskill animal Sanctuary/Saugerties, NY www.casanctuary.org
  53. Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary/Caledonia, MS www.cedrhill.org
  54. Christian Animal Rights Association
  55. Christian Vegetarian Association/Cleveland, OH www.christianveg.com
  56. Citizens for Planetary Health/Swain, NY www.linkny.com
  57. Comite Anti Stierenvechten (Anit Bullfighting Committee)/Utrecht, Netherlands www.stieren.net
  58. Compassionate Action Institute/New York, NY www.pleasebekind.com
  59. Compassionate Crusaders Trust/India www.animalcrusaders.org
  60. Cornwall’s Voice for Animals/UK www.justnicephotos.homestead.com/CVFA.html
  61. The Council Animal Advocacy/Canada www.thecouncilclaw.ca
  62. Country Critters Rescue Corral/Sedro-Woolley, WA www.countrycritters.org
  63. Danish Friends of Animals/Copenhagen, Denmark www.dfas.dk/english
  64. Djurrat.org/Jonkoping, Sweden www.djurratt.org
  65. Dog Patch/Colville, WA www.dogpat.org
  66. East Bay Animal Advocates/Martinez, CA www.eastbayanimaladvocates.org
  67. Een Dier Een Vriend/Netherlands http://www.edev.nl
  68. Engineers and Scientists for Animal Rights/Silicon Valley, CA www.esar-online.com
  69. Equine Advocates/Chatham, NY www.equineadvocates.com/
  70. Farm Sanctuary/Watkins Glen, NY www.farmsanctuary.org
  71. FarPlace Animal Rescue/UK www.farplace.co.uk
  72. Farm Animal Welfare Network/Holmfirth, UK
  73. Fauna Foundation/Chambly, Quebec, Canada www.faunafoundation.org
  74. Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe/UK www.faace.co.uk
  75. Foundation for Interdisciplinary Research & Education Promoting Animal Welfare/Albany, NY www.firepaw.org
  76. Freedom for Animals/Canada www.freeanimals.org
  77. The Fund for Animals/New York, NY www.fund.org
  78. Global Action in the Interest of Animals/Belgium www.gaia.be
  79. Guelph Equine Area Rescue Stables/Ontario, Canada www.gearstables.com
  80. Haven Books International
  81. Help for the Helpless Animals/Dallas, TX www.volunteermatch.org/orgs/org10923.html
  82. Highveld Horse Care Unit/South Africa
  83. Horse Haven/Rathdrum, ID www.horsehavenrescue.org
  84. H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary/New York, NY www.hrsny.org
  85. The Humane Society of Canada/Toronto www.humanesociety.com
  86. The Humane Society of Louisiana/New Orleans, LA www.humanela.org
  87. The Humane Society of the United States/Washington, D.C. www.hsus.org
  88. In Defense of Animals/Mill Valley, CA www.idausa.org
  89. Independent Voice for Animals/Valley Head, AL
  90. Initiative Anti-Corrida/Germany www.anti-corrida.de
  91. The International Movement Against Bullfights/www.2kat.net.iwab
  92. Jamshedpur Animal Welfare Society/Jamshedpur, India www.jawsindia.net
  93. JazzPurr Society for Animal Protection/Windsor, Ontariao,Canada
  94. Justice for Animals/South Africa www.justiceforanimals.co.za
  95. Karuna Society for Animals and Nature/India
  96. Kalamazoo Animal Liberation League/Kalamazoo, MI /www.kallnet.org
  97. The Kinship Circle, St. Louis, Missouri www.kinshipcircle.org
  98. Lamma Animal Protection/Hong Kong SAR, China/www.lap.org.hk
  99. Last Chance for Animals/Los Angeles, CA www.lcanimal.org
  100. Last Chance for Animals San Diego
  101. League for Earth and Animal Protection/Sherman Oaks, CA www.LEAPnonprofit.org
  102. Lehigh Valley Animal Rights Coalition/Allentown, PA www.enter.net/~pstacks/index.htm
  103. Magnus Ronnerup/Sweden http://magnus.ronnerup.se/index.php
  104. The Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition/Worcester, MA www.massachusettsanimalrights.com
  105. Mercy for Animals/Columbus, OH www.mercyforanimals.org
  106. Michigan Animal Rights Society/University of Michigan www.umich.edu/~humanity
  107. Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)/ www.michspca.org
  108. Mill Creek Farm
  109. Mossburn Animal Centre/Lockerbie, Scotland www.mossburn.org
  110. MovetoACT/Indianapolis, IN/www.movetoact.org
  111. National Animal Sanctuary Alliance/UK www.farplace.co.uk
  112. National Center for Animal Law/Lewis & Clark Law School/Portland, OR www.lclark.edu/org/ncal
  113. National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/South Africa
  114. Nature and Animal Care Foundation/UK
  115. New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance/Englishtown, NJ/www.nj-ara.org
  116. New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society/Christchurch, New Zealand www.nzavs.org.nz
  117. NZ Vegetarian Society, Inc./Auckland, New Zealand www.ivu.org/nzvs/info/aim.htm
  118. No Voice Unheard/Santa Cruz, CA www.novoiceunheard.org
  119. Northeastern Oklahoma Animal Helpers/ www.noah-online.org
  120. Northwest Animal Rights Network(NARN)/Seattle, WA/www.narn.org
  121. Ocean Care/Wadenswil,Switzerland www.oceancare.org
  122. Ocean Defense International/Ashland, OR www.oceandefense.org
  123. Ooh MahNee, Inc./Hunker, PA www.oohmahneefarm.org/
  124. Operation Toby, Inc./Australia www.operationtoby.com
  125. Orange County People for Animals/Orange County, CA www.ocpausa.org
  126. PACT (People and Animals in Community Together) Humane Society
  127. People for Animal Rights/Syracuse, NY
  128. People for Animals Calcutta/India www.animalcrusaders.org
  129. People for Animals Haryana/India www.pfaharyana.in
  130. People for Animals Ludhiana/India www.peopleforanimals.org
  131. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals/Norfolk, VA www.peta.org
  132. The Philippine Animal Welfare Society/Quezon City, Philippines www.pitstopit.com/paws3/history.htm
  133. Pound Rescue/Okotoks, Alberta, CA www.poundrescue.com
  134. Rational Animal/New York, NY www.rational-animal.org
  135. Real Food/UK www.realfood.org.uk
  136. The Responsible Animal Care Society/Canada
  137. Responsible Policies for Animals, Inc. /Glenside, PA www.rpaforall.org
  138. RSPCA, Australia
  139. SAFE, New Zealand
  140. Saint Louis Animal Rights Team/St. Louis, MO
  141. San Diego Animal Advocates/San Diego, CA
  142. Sathya Sai Sanctuary/Castlebaldwin, County Sligo, Ireland http://homepage.eircom.net/~donkeys/
  143. Save-A-Pet/Grayslake, IL www.save-a-pet-il.org
  144. Seeds for Change Humane Education/LaJolla, CA www.seedsforchangehumaneeducation.org
  145. Sled Dog Action Coalition/Miami, FL www.helpsleddogs.org
  146. Society for Animal Freedom and Equality/Canada www.animalequality.com
  147. SPEAK (Supporting & Promoting Ethics for the Animal Kingdom)
  148. Stichting Dierenhulp Venezuela/ Ugchelen, Netherlands www.dierenhulp.nl
  149. Students Against Animal Suffering (U.C. San Diego)
  150. Student Animal Rights Alliance/New York, NY www.defendanimals.org
  151. Students and Others for Animal Respect/Simon Fraser University/Burnaby,BC, Canada www.sfu.ca/soar/
  152. Students Protecting Animals (Western Michigan University)/Kalamazoo, MI
  153. Syracuse Animal Rights Organization/Syracuse, NY www.syracuseanimalrights.com/
  154. Terra Anima Trust/ The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India
  155. Tierrechtstermine/Germany www.tierrechtstermine.de
  156. Total Animal Liberation/New York, NY
  157. UCLA Animal Welfare Association/Los Angeles, CA www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/awa
  158. United Poultry Concerns/Machipongo,VA www.upc-online.org
  159. Uniting for Justice/Grand Rapids, MI www.unitingforjustice.org
  160. Viva! USA/Davis, CA www.vivausa.org
  161. Veganswines/Frankfurt, Germany www.coolvegan.com
  162. Vegetarian Advocates/Cleveland, OH
  163. Vegetarians of Oklahoma: www.VegOK.org
  164. VegNews Magazine/San Francisco, CA www.vegnews.com
  165. Voice for Animals/Edmonton, Alberta, CA
  166. Voice of Compassion for Animal Life/Tampa, FL www.forthevoiceless.org
  167. Voiceless: The Fund for Animals/Australia www.voiceless.org.au
  168. Voices for Animals/Stroudsburg, PA
  169. Voices for Animals/Charlotteville, VA
  170. West Midlands Animal Action/Redditch, UK www.geocities.com/wmids_animalaction
  171. Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre/South Africa www.wetnose.org.za
  172. World Animal Protection www.worldanimalprotection.org

If your organization opposes rodeo and its horrific cruelty please contact SHARK at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can add you to the list. Thank you for caring.

Rodeo Announcer Lies - Claims Alliance with Humane Group at Steer Roping Finals

Charlie Throckmorton Lies

On November 13th and 14th, 2009 at the PRCA’s National Finals Steer Roping in Guthrie, OK while injured animals were being removed from the arena, rodeo announcer Charlie Throckmorton falsely claimed the following: 

"We work in complete harmony with the American Humane Association."

Mr. Throckmorton’s claim is an outright lie.

After learning of the claim, the American Humane Association immediately issued the following statement:
 
"The rodeo announcer completely misspoke. The American Humane Association has no formal relationship or working arrangement at all with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, nor have we ever given permission for or approval of such an announcement. We do not monitor the activities at rodeos and we do not have any oversight of rodeo events."
 
Investigators from SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness) are calling on PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to publicly apologize for the false statements of Mr. Throckmorton. Mr. Stressman was in attendance both nights of the finals, but remained silent during the statements.

As rodeo comes under increasingly intense scrutiny for its treatment of animals it is important to note these lies. The PRCA, instead of going to the effort of actually partnering with a humane organization or even improving their treatment of rodeo animals, chooses to outright lie to the public and create false impressions they know to be complete fabrications by claiming an alliance with a humane organization that does not and has never supported rodeo.
 
See it all here:
 

Rodeo "Champion" Trevor Brazile

Las Vegas television news Channel 13’s report on the 2000 National Finals Rodeo included the following comments from PRCA calf and steer roper Trevor Brazile, with follow-up from SHARK president Steve Hindi:

Trevor Brazile: “These animals out here, they have breakfast, lunch and dinner before anybody. These guys that come out here, that's their job, is to take perfect care of these animals. People, you know, when they see it, they have no idea of the time and the sweat and the tears that go into this event, and, just the respect that we have for every animal.”

 

Steve Hindi: “I’ll tell you what, if that’s the way they love their animals, I’m glad I’m not one of their kids. This is abuse.”

Watch the video below to see the kind of “perfect care” and “respect” Trevor Brazile gives to rodeo animals. This clip comes from the PRCA’s 2008 steer roping finals in Hobbs, NM

 

Mitt Romney

The 2002 Olympics Winter Games, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Former Cultural Olympiad Director Ray Grant

Lies, corruption, and rodeo animal abuse just seem to go hand in hand, and this was evident when the 2002 Winter Olympics included a rodeo as part of its “Cultural Olympiad.” In media interviews, Cultural Olympiad Director Ray Grant attempted to defend the Olympic rodeo by claiming that it was supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The following is a direct quote from Grant when he was interviewed on Salt Lake television news Channel 5:

Ray Grant: “It (the Olympic rodeo) has the full support of the Veterinary Medical Association and there are very, very strict guidelines regarding the humane treatment of animals and we’re going to adhere to those very strict guidelines.”

Salt Lake Organizing Committee head Mitt Romney (now the governor of Massachusetts) made similar statements, all of which were absolutely false.

SHARK informed the AVMA about Grant's and Romney’s statements. In response, AVMA spokesperson Dr. Gail Golab publicly declared that there was absolutely no connection between the AMVA and the Olympic rodeo, and that the AVMA, in fact, has no standards regarding the treatment of rodeo animals.

Neither Grant nor Romney ever retracted or apologized for their false statements.

Grant later went on to tell the same television station (Channel 5 in Salt Lake City) that:

“Tail pulling under the rules that we’ve established, immediate disqualifies a candidate from the rodeo.”

It was another lie. A SHARK investigator smuggled a video camera into the Olympic rodeo the very first night. Before she was discovered and ejected, the investigator filmed multiple incidents of tail pulling. There were no disqualifications. In fact, one of the tail pulling incidents involved Rope Myers (yes, that really is his name), the contestant who won the steer riding event!

Watch Mitt Romney run from SHARK's cameras below: 

Here you can the lies and corruption of the Mitt Romney and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee:

PRCA "Humane Coordinator" Cindy Schonholtz

Cindy Schonholtz holds a position called "Animal Welfare Coordinator" with the PRCA. We aren’t aware of any animal welfare work by Ms. Schonholtz, but she does spend a good deal of time attacking animal protectors and trying to cover for rodeo animal abuse.

Ms. Schonholtz is also the Vice President of the NAIA. Amazingly, the NAIA supports the killing of horses for food “when [the horse] no longer meet the owner's needs”.

In an interview with Las Vegas television station Channel 8 during the PRCA’s 1997 National Finals Rodeo, Ms. Schonholtz stated:

“Without our animals we would not have the sport of rodeo, and the people involved in rodeo do care about their animals. We have over sixty rules and regulations, and they are enforced.”

We have repeatedly asked the PRCA, and Cindy Schonholtz specifically, for the PRCA records for animals injured and killed, as well as for records of humane violators at PRCA rodeos. Our requests were at first denied, and are now simply ignored. Other rodeo associations also keep such information shrouded in secrecy.

SHARK has been given no proof that any member of the PRCA, or any other rodeo association, has ever been disciplined for animal cruelty. There is no question, however, that rodeo animals have been injured and even killed, and that people in the PRCA and other rodeo organizations have tried to cover up the injuries and deaths when they can get away with it, even to the point of masquerading other animals in their place.

Real sports associations are not only willing, but insistent on making such information available to the public. For that matter, a real "Animal Welfare Coordinator" wouldn't be afraid to debate the issue of animal welfare. But the PRCA "Animal Welfare Coordinator Cindy Schonholtz is very, very afraid of debating those who can speak to rodeo animal abuse!

More Articles ...

  1. PRCA veterinarian and spokesperson Doug Corey
  2. Former PRCA Commissioner Steven Hatchell
  3. Dave Brown
  4. Linda Burdick

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Cowboy Criminals
SHARK's Top Cowboy Criminals
Steer Tailing

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