10/24/07 Animal Rights and Rodeo

Like a burr under a saddle blanket animal rights activists are constantly attempting to undermine the sport of rodeo and since our family is involved in the sport I find their antics especially irritating and ignorant. In the majority of cases rodeo stock is treated better than most back yard dogs. No one regulates how many hours or how short a dog can be chained, yet the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association has more than 60 rules dealing with the treatment of animals and stiff penalties for that break them. PETA wants us to believe rodeo equipment is inhumane. Wrong again! From cattle prods, flank straps, to spurs the PRCA regulates their use, and injury to an animal from this equipment is nearly nonexistent. Out of over 85,000 animals at 67 PRCA rodeos during 2001 season just 25 animals were injured. Think of it this way the cattle prod used to move stock delivers 5000 to 6000 volts of electricity to a 2000 pound bull. In contrast, "Don't Tazer me Bro" was a 185 lb, guy in a short sleeve shirt, zapped with a 11,000-50,000 volt. Who's treated more humanly?