Santa Fe New Mexican Letter – Rodeos

Below is a letter written by Rae Sikora that appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican earlier:

"Many communities and whole countries are moving away from entertainment based in violence and captivity of other species. Bullfights, animals in circuses, canned hunting and other barbaric practices are being phased out around the world in favor of more compassionate and nonviolent entertainment.

While the rodeo is considered a wholesome tradition by some, the reality is that many innocent, terrified animals are victims. There is no need to cause harm to any living being in an effort to entertain ourselves. We can create and support entertainment that teaches the children of Santa Fe respect for other species and the value of all life.

Rodeo Santa Fe is celebrated and supported by many businesses and individuals who might be unaware of the violence involved. Trader Joe’s pays tribute to the local rodeo as a fun tradition with a huge mural on their wall of a smiling calf and a cowboy riding a huge rabbit with the words, “Rodeo de Santa Fe. ”

If we held a rodeo event with dogs being roped, injured and abused for “entertainment,” it would be shut down before the doors opened. If dogs were the victims, the event would be animal cruelty and would be illegal under animal-cruelty laws.

But the animals abused in the rodeo are not labeled as family or companion animals, so their pain and suffering continues without most of our community questioning it. The difference is not how much they suffer, but our stories and ideas about them. The same has been true throughout history when other humans, who were seen as “less valuable and unfeeling,” were used in barbaric forms of entertainment. We evolve and change as our awareness of the other individuals around us and their needs and wants becomes more inclusive.

I understand that my views are not popular in a region that glorifies ranching and cowboy culture. But I am at least hoping that I live in a community that is willing to question traditions that come at the expense of others. If I asked most Santa Fe residents if they would like to live in a peaceful, nonviolent community, they would answer yes. Every individual and every business can be part of creating that type of community“.

The Cruelty That Is Rodeo