SOME "TRADITIONS" DESERVE TO DIE.

Rodeo is condemned by nearly EVERY animal welfare organization in North America due to its inherent cruelty. Rodeo has almost NOTHING to do with ranching. For most of the animals, the rodeo arena is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. Working ranch hands never routinely rode bulls, or rode bareback, or wrestled steers, or barrel raced, or practiced calf roping (terrified BABIES!) as a timed event. Nor did they put irritating flank straps on the horses and bulls or work them over in the holding chutes with painful "hotshots," kicks and slaps. Some "sport"! Indeed, rodeo is not a true "sport" at all. Rather, it's a bogus, macho exercise in DOMINATION. It needs to end. And the media needs to stop promoting this blatant cruelty. I was present at the 1995 California Rodeo/Salinas when FIVE animals suffered and died, all in the name of "entertainment." Only in the aftermath of the mayhem did the PRCA adopt a rule requiring on-site veterinarians at all their events. The great majority of the estimated 5,000-10,000 U.S. rodeos don't provide even this basic care, and animal injuries and deaths are commonplace. Even Cesar Chavez was an outspoken critic; ditto Pope Francis.

The United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales) outlawed rodeos back in 1934, followed by Germany and the Netherlands. Can the U.S. be far behind? Rodeo has had its brutal day and now--like those Confederate statues--belongs in the Dustbin of History, R.I.P. BOYCOTT ALL RODEOS, THEIR ADVERTISERS & SPONSORS. FOLLOW THE MONEY.

AND A P.S. - The Rowell Ranch Rodeo has had a WRITTEN rodeo animal welfare policy since 1987 (reviewed annually). The Livermore Rodeo has NO such policy. This needs to change, for the welfare of the animals, as well as for the professionalism of the rodeo itself.
WRITE: Mathew Fuzie, General Manager, LARPD, email - mfuzie@larpd.org. At the very least, such a policy should require an on-site veterinarian at every rodeo-related event, plus a ban on cruel, non-sanctioned events such as "mutton busting" and "wild cow milking" (both recently outlawed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in unincorporated areas of the county).

There'll be anti-cruelty demos at the Livermore Rodeo (June 10-11), both Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Signs and leaflets provided.

Hosted by HUMANITY THROUGH EDUCATION - Please confirm your attendance with Pat Cuviello, email - pcuvie@gmail.com

FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH:

"If ever there were a completely gratuitous abuse of animals, and often baby animals at that, all done for the sheer thrill and bravado of it, it is rodeo." (--Matthew Scully, in his 2002 book DOMINION. Scully is a former speechwriter for Pres. G.W. Bush.)

"Do I think it hurts the calf? Sure I do. I'm not stupid." (--Keith Martin, chair, PRCA. In the 2/6/00 San Antonio Express News.)

"Yeah, I accidentally killed and injured lot of calves when I was learning. I mean, I plain roped their heads off." (--a PRCA calf roper, "The mud, the blood & the poop," by PRCA reporter Gavin Ehringer, in the 9/19/03 Colorado Springs Independent)

Rodeos are a cruel "tradition" that have no place in today's society. Animals, terrified by shouting crowds of people, are chased in an arena, roped or grappled by a lunging human, and wrested or flipped to the ground, often injuring them. Even ranchers agree that they would never treat their animals so callously and inhumanely.
Rodeos are nothing but barbaric displays of sheer power and domination over other Earthlings: "We're going to chase, rope and throw you to the ground just because we're stronger and we can." What type of message does this send to our children?
If people treated their dog or cat this way, they would go to jail. So why would we allow this for any other animal? What makes these creatures so much "less" in our eyes that we permit this?
I get it that there are powerful forces at work here that encourage the status quo. There's a culture and tradition that many people hold dear. But let's call rodeo what it is: nothing more than an orgy of machismo thinly disguised as a celebration of rugged western values.
This pandemic was caused by humans - the direct result of our gross mistreatment and abuse of animals, both wild and domestic. A better use of our time, energy and resources would be an animal sanctuary and education center for school children so we can teach kindness and empathy toward other beings.
True strength is using your power to protect and defend, not dominate and hurt others. Time to end rodeo.

Another round of animal abuse in Livermore.
Rodeo animals suffer fear and pain to perform for human entertainment. Please don’t attend or support this outdated event! I look forward to the day when Rodeos are history!

By reading the previous post, I will assume you have yet to ever go to a rodeo or spend a moment working on a ranch or horseback. I always laugh at those who are so quick to throw away all the traditions that built the state of California. Most of you have little understanding of how extensive the ranching and agricultural industry is in this state because you're blind and only see what's directly in front of you in the Bay Area. Nobody in the world has a greater love for animals than a Rancher. The same can be said that nobody has a greater love for the land than a farmer and a Rancher. I also have to laugh at some of your comments and would be very curious to understand where you got your data points.

The next time you make dinner or sit down in a restaurant, remember that food is being delivered to you by a Farmer and Rancher. The same people that you were calling names with your extremely spiteful post.

If I said some of the same things in my post that you just said in yours, I would be called cruel and insensitive.

I will be enjoying the Livermore Rodeo this weekend.

FOR CS, ABOVE - To repeat, rodeo has almost NOTHING to do with either ranching or agriculture. It's mostly macho hype. REAL working cowboys/girls never routinely rode bulls, or wrestled steers, or rode bareback, or barrel raced, or practiced calf roping as a timed event (terrified BABIES!). Or put flank straps on the animals. Imagine the public outcry if pet dogs were abused thusly. Rodeo has had its brutal day and now--like those Confederate statues--belongs in the Dustbin of History.

Anti Rodeo Mills does not know what he is talking about.

I grew up on a working ranch.
We roped, wrestled and branded our cattle.
We were required by law to brand our herds.
That requirement remains in place today.
The women helped with the branding.
Barrel racing is a sport, not any different then Churchill downs, or Almeda County horse racing.

We raised chickens.
The women chopped of the chickens 'heads when they were ready to harvest, they plucked them, singed and froze them.

FOR MICHAEL AUSTIN, ABOVE - True "sport" designates willing, evenly-matched participants. Rodeo does not qualify. For the majority of these exploited and abused animals, the rodeo arena is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. Again, nearly EVERY animal welfare organization on the planet condemns rodeo due to its inherent cruelties. Even Cesar Chavez was an outspoken critic; ditto Pope Francis.

The real question is not are you "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" but are you tough enough to be kind to animals? Unfortunately rodeo people are not this tough. There will be demonstrations against the inherent cruelty of rodeo both days of the Livermore Rodeo at 1:30p.

It is very disturbing that some rodeo events cause suffering to animals disguised as entertainment. Many events inflict terror and pain on the animals involved and the aftermath too often is injury or death.

One of the worst is calf roping, where calves as young as two months old are choked and strangled by repeated, brutal roping for rodeo events or for practice, until they are exhausted by increasing pain or die slow and excruciating deaths from their injuries.

This cruel event has been outlawed in locations around the world, and must be banned by all rodeos. This kind of violence against animals, which has nothing to do with honorable ranching, is long outdated. Ending this abuse is long overdue.

How did all those demonstrations work out? Did they have to call out the National Guard?

To Sarah Doull
Roping chokes and strangles!

You have evidently never been to a working ranch or attended a rodeo. This is shown by the stupidity in your post. Before becoming a self-proclaimed expert on a topic, you should Truly understand the topic you do not.

To CS above:
Wrong. I raised lambs and steers as part of Future Farmers of America. The inherent cruelty of taking away an animal's life without necessity led me to become vegan. Humans thrive on plant-based diets!

As far as "traditions," weak excuse for cruelty. We used to employ slavery as a "tradition" - we can evolve beyond outdated and unnecessary practices that don't serve us anymore! Meat, dairy and egg-based diets are responsible for our current environmental devastation and poor health of Americans. It's a large contributor to global warming and the prime cause of our biodiversity crisis.

If ranchers truly "loved" their animals they wouldn't kill them, plain and simple.

And thank you, when I sit down to eat, I thank the FARMERS who grew the grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and seeds that make up my diet. No need to thank the ranchers who exploit animals for their own purposes!

"Where calves as young as two months old are choked and strangled"...That statement by an earlier poster is a full-blown lie.

Calves are not weaned until 6-7 months old. However, the prime weaning time depends on the individual ranches management practices, available feed stuff, weather and overall health of the calves.

Once weaned, the calves are fattened up for market for another 6 months, more or less, depending on the markets demands.

The two-day Rodeo event in Livermore was sold out each day. Congratulations to Livermore Stockmen's Rodeo Association.
Good Job Well Done.

For Michael Austin, above:

"Job well done"? Ask the animals what THEY think. Be aware that nearly EVERY animal welfare organization on the planet condemns rodeo due to its inherent cruelty. The Livermore Rodeo doesn't even have a written animal welfare policy, unlike the Rowell Ranch Rodeo, which has had such a policy since 1986.

The United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales) outlawed rodeos back in 1934, followed by Germany and the Netherlands. Can the U.S. be far behind?