" Paying for animal cruelty"
Published in Surrey Leader on May 28, 2004

Re: 18-month-old steer dead.
I've never seen two steer wrestle before -isn't that what rodeos call it - steer wrestling?
What kind of entertainment is it when a man or woman jumps off his/her horse to grab a steer's horns and twist its head around its body? Just looking at rodeos on TV and photos clearly shows the animal is in distress. Wouldn't you be if your head was twisted by someone?
What kind of people go and watch this? It's clearly animal abuse of the worst kind, because people are paying money to watch a person hurt an animal because they think a farm animal has no feelings.
Put their pet dog in the ring and they would be freaking out -hypocrites.
It was noted by Councillor Higginbotham that this is the first incident she has heard of in 21 years of the rodeo. Maybe it is because the majority of injuries are not made public. I am sure that the animals suffer considerable pain after performing in front of those jeering crowds - but who would hear their pain and cries when so many are laughing and clapping with pleasure from seeing a beast brought down by a man. This time the animal suffered in front of a crowd.
Maybe people should think about that when dishing out their money to go to rodeos, because what you are paying for is animal cruelty.
Karen Chong-Kwan Boan