Coming to the Reliant Astrodome: The Houston Animal Cruelty Festival

Behad, it's called ranching. Did you say you lived in Texas?

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"Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks
www.clutchtown.com

 

The Vegetarian question was for general knowledge. . . mostly unrelated to debate

The electricity and the nut roping are new
to me. . . that is indeed cruel
[I though the Spurs in the flank was the
most of it . . I know the prod was used
to move them in the fields though]

mmmmm Amazing what we can tolerate
for the sake of money and leisure

I've never been that I can think of . .now
I'm happy about that fact.

I do not like folx who are cruel to animals
for no purpose but entertainment. I have
reconsidered. This is a bit much. Roping
ones genitals and electricution does push
the limit. What's next WHY NOT GIVE THE
BULL SOME PCP, ACID, Etc.

Rocket River


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I don't know where to begin. All I can say is that I absolutely agree with all the anti-rodeo/ anti-hunting posters in this topic. These "sports" are sick. Why am I not surprised that ROXRAN was the first to argue for the Rodeo. Frickin Squirrel eater.

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"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."

 

I think everyone knows where I stand on this one. Another aspect that isn't often discussed is the AG programs that lead to the prize winning steer or pig or whatever.

In many instances, the prize winner is purchased and becomes dinner. The kid who raised the animal is reduced to tears after having grown attached to it. Sad.

The Rodeo in Houston is justified every year by the millions they raise in scholarship funding. That is a great cause, but doing it in the barbaric and disgusting way they do is really very sad. It would be very easy to transform the event into something else, but they won't.

A-Train: I'm really glad you mentioned the musicians. Don't think that some haven't protested. Pace Concerts, who generally books the Rodeo, has had many artists turn them down. Unfortunately, most country artists view this show as a real mark of their popularity in the industry. Doing it, because of its size, is a feather in their cap and most are loathe to turn it down for fear they won't get other opportunities like it again.

For anyone who is interested, there is a protest by animal rights groups every year outside the gates of the Astrodomain complex. Obviously, I know not everyone is on the exact same page as many animal rights supporters like PETA. Frankly, neither am I, but this may be an exception.

Until regular folks show up and protest these events and write letters to the newspapers, etc., nothing will change. I guarantee you that the Rockets will have NO problem with those protests so we are at least on the right site.

How about www.don'tsaveourrodeo.com or www.ditchourrodeo.com ?

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I am very very sleepy.

 

Yeah, I didn't want to jump right on it though I've been watching it since you started it. My feelings about animals are pretty well-documented and it seemed almost anti-climactic for me to post right away with some nonsensical rambling. Better to add something to the discussion than just YADDA YADDA YADDA, MOO, MOO, MOO, OINK, OINK OINK.



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I am very very sleepy.

 

Jeff,

To add to that...

Until the stigma of protesting animal abuse for things such as the rodea stops being "wierd" or "anti-masculine" this craop will continue.
It is a big macho thing, the whole "male hunter" thing that was brought up earlier.

Why this "primal urge" should have any bering in a modern society is beyond me. Why not stick to our primal urges with mating, fighting over food, etc.? Why pick and choose?

Most seem to agree with the rodeo, but what to people feel about the zoo?

Just curious...

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EZLN

 

A couple of my friends told me about their trip to the 'gay rodeo' in Salt Lake. I felt bad, but I completely unleashed my opinions about the rodeo. It's disgusting.

There are people that are so caught up w/ their work... their mediocrity, that they never question if there's a better life. They never question any actions that they take. They are the mass. These same people that go to the rodeo would have gone to the Colosseum in mid-age Rome to see 500 people die in a day, or a thousand majestic animals.

These same people nowadays are the same people that stick to the plan. They can never deviate from the plan. They can never read a good book. They can never question their significance in the universe. They're basically blobs.

Maybe, just maybe, Hollywood can save them. Just kidding, but maybe the media can make animals have the same stature as those bigtime redneck female singers (??? Hill) that look like KMart models.

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We're going to stay together until something happens, if something happens. - Sidney Lowe on Shareef's career in Vancouver.

 

I've wondered that exact thing myself. Why don't men go out and club their women then drag them back home? Why isn't rape still acceptable (it was common for a man to "spread his seed" to many women at one time)? Why do we even need or want supermarkets? Exercising our "primal urges" is really just an excuse for barbarism that we still find acceptable.

It is simply easier to practice that on animals because they don't communicate back to us. Can you imagine if animals were actually able to talk and tell us of their suffering? The simple act of communicating would likely alter the entire scope of hunting, animal cruelty and even eating meat.

The ironic thing is that anyone who has a pet knows that animals do communicate with them. They know when they want out, when they want attention, when they are hungry, etc. Yet, somehow we don't assign those feelings to rodeo or zoo animals and think that because they are "wild" that they haven't the sense of our pets. Oh, and in case you think your dog or cat is intellegent (which, of course, they are), compare that to many wild animals whose intellegence, in many instances, is much greater than that of a domesticated animal. Yes, that includes cows and pigs, in particular.


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I am very very sleepy.

 

I'm a little surprised that people have such a problem with the calf scramble. Of all the rodeo events, excluding maybe barrel racing, it would seem to be the least objectionable. The calfs aren't being body slammed -- their being grabbed, haltered, and pulled into a circle. After which, the kids get to practice and learn what farmers/ranchers really do, care for and raise an animal -- pampering and giving it individual attention.

If anything, as Jeff pointed out, it's probably a lot more cruel for the kids, who have to part with the cow after getting attached to it.

I never understood though, how any male could watch a bull or bronco have it's testicles tied off and not winch. (For those that didn't realize it, that cow bell looking thing with a rope attached that often falls on the ground when the bull exits the chute -- is a kind of bull testicle pincher.)

I do know some females though, that wouldn't bat an eye. Ouch!

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Stay Cool...

 

Here are our contributors from the Entertainment industry.
Got this list off of our department email:


Here is the entertainment lineup for this year's Rodeo in the dome.....

Tuesday, Feb 13, 7pm Clay Walker
Wednesday, Feb 14, 7pm Alan Jackson
Thursday, Feb 15, 7pm Hank Williams Jr
Friday, Feb 16, 7pm Diana Ross
Saturday, Feb 17, 4pm Alabama
Sunday, Feb 18, 3:35pm Destiny's Child
Monday, Feb 19, 7pm Lyle Lovett & Robert Earl Keen
Tuesday, Feb 20, 7pm Neil McCoy & Rascal Flatts
Wednesday, Feb 21, 7pm 98 Degrees
Thursday, Feb 22, 7pm Lonestar & Brad Paisley
Friday, Feb 23, 7pm Patti LaBelle & Gladys Knight "Black Heritage Day"
Saturday, Feb 24, 4pm Kenny Chesney & Phil Vassar
Sunday, Feb 25, 3:35pm Intocable & Control "Go Tejano Day"
Monday, Feb 26, 7pm Brooks & Dunn
Tuesday, Feb 27, 7pm Duran Duran
Wednesday, Feb 28, 7pm Jo Dee Messina
Thursday, Mar 1, 7pm Def Leppard
Friday, Mar 2, 7pm Martina McBridge & Lee Ann Womack
Saturday, Mar 3, 4pm Barry Manilow
Sunday, Mar 4, 3:35pm LeAnn Rimes & Billy Gillman

 

Behad -- that is interesting, and does sound horrible. I would object to that.

I've watched the calf scramble at the HLSR several times and have never seen any of the calves have problems or be abused by the kids or staff. They don't do tail/ear twisting/pulling, and don't run the calves to exhaustion. (Just the kids are run to exhaustion.) They do hold them by the necks to put the halter on, and often enter a tug-of-war with the calf to get them over the line, but not in a way that would hurt the animals.

The phrase "very small calves" might be part of the problem with that particular rodeo. The calves at the HLSR aren't small. The kids use a real halter, and use that to pull the animals. I also have the impression the kids go through some orientation and training before they set them loose, since they seem to use similar techniques. The calves seem healthy when they set them loose afterward and herd them out of the arena.

I'm not saying that the kids treat the calves with kid gloves, but they don't do anything that would hurt them or cause them to suffer. Of all the rodeo events, I just wouldn't have singled this one out as one harmful or abusive to the animals, and I wouldn't call it, at least the way the HLSR does it, violent.

Barrel racing and Chuckwagon racing (not really a competition) also don't seem objectionable. For the record, I wouldn't say the same about most of the other competitions. I am opposed to the things they do to "motivate" the animals, particularly the flank straps and cattle prods.



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Stay Cool...

 

The sword thing, yes. The hook in the mouth, no.

Ever seen a fish mouth? The flesh is thin and tough; nothing at all like a mammal's soft, vulnerable mouth. Getting a short, barbless hook (the norm for sport fishing) jammed in there is no big deal for the fish. It's certainly nowhere near the pain and suffering endured by those poor rodeo animals.

I've done a lot of sport fishing. The only real harm the fish goes through are the few minutes of stress he must endure during the fight. This anguish, of course, is quickly forgotten as fish have very short memory spans.

Don't be down on hunting and fishing. When done right, these activities are infinitely more humane than what goes on in the typical meat plant or rodeo.

 

Hmmm, we communicate with other humans, and that doesn't stop cruelty or conflict. Wishful thinking. Not to mention its pretty funny that many of you animal huggers will protest HUNTING, where a person goes and gets their own meat, when the grocery store solution you propose causes so much more of the 'cruelty' you talk about.

I wonder if any of these anti-rodeo posters have been part of the culture they are castigating? Any of you out there grow up on a ranch or raise an animal like that? Or participate in one of these events? The simple fact is you could find quotes that make any sport out to be barbaric. After all, some children don't get to choose whether they participate in football do they? Yet they can be subjected to all manner of injuries including death.

You say things like 'I'm proud I've never owned a pair of cowboy boots.' What is that to be proud of? Because you're an URBANITE who wears penny loafers and no socks? Boots are made because when you're out in the fields there are dangers like snakes which the high cuff and thick leather provides protection against. The city gear you rave about is the celebratory version. Neither is the sign of someone stupid, rather someone from an environment apparently different from your own. The reason people can see our politicians and newpeople dressed like this is that its a central part of Texan heritage, as much of the state grew as a result of the cattle industry. An industry, I might add, that continues to thrive in the state and put out meat in your groceries.

The cruelty of being raised for consumption is sad, but not enough to make you quit eating meat, is it Behad? You could, of course, CHOOSE not to participate, but you do. How is that different than supporting the cruelty rodeo animals experience by going to the rodeo?

Personally, I think veal, mmmmmmmmmmm....

 

Hayes: The difference between animals and humans in terms of your "wishful thinking" is that there are laws against harming and killing other humans.

I have been on ranches and farms. My father was an outdoor journalist for many years so I've been fishing with all those guys you see on those stupid fishing shows and I've been hunting with Joe Dogget, etc. I grew up right smack dab in the middle of that culture and I've come to really think it is wierd.

It isn't a sport when you put out a bunch of feed and hide in a tree waiting for Bambi to show up so you can blow his brains out. Real macho.

I don't like slaughterhouses any better. I don't eat meat. I don't buy leather. I avoid animal products as much as possible for these reasons.

Chasing a defenseless animal through and empty arena and roping it to the ground is really a man's sport. So is sticking a cattle prod up the ass of a bull so he'll be so pissed that he'll try to buck your skinny ass off and gore you to death. Real tough. Oh, and smart too.