Entertainment for Whom?

Last week I was out with some lady friends and one of them mentioned the State Fair is open. She was so excited, like a kid in a candy store. And why not? A state fair is one of those endearing American traditions, that conjures up images that are… well, the feelings that she was having. She was happy.

I guess when you look at it on the surface, it can be. You can go on rides, catch a concert, eat some food, etc. But then there are the animal events and rodeo: such as calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling, and bronc riding. All of these are considered to be wholesome family activities by the majority of our Americana culture. The stark reality is that many innocent animals are victimized in the name of entertainment. There is no need to cause harm to any living being simply to entertain ourselves. We surely can create entertainment that teaches everyone to respect all species as having the same value as the human species.

The NM State Fair, believe it or not, is riddled with animal abuse. Abuses that are sold to you, the consumer, as ‘wholesome entertainment’. But Entertainment for Whom? Surely not for the animals.

Besides the rodeo there is "Calf scrambles" at the New Mexico State Fair, during which calves are released into an arena and frantically pursued by teenagers hoping to catch them. Being chased and tackled before screaming crowds is an obviously terrifying and potentially injurious ordeal for these animals, who have no means of escape or defense.

I remember my first time at the State Fair. I was a guest of my boss. At one point, he led me to the Rodeo. As we sat on the bleaches, calf roping was in progress. As soon as I saw that calf go down, I turned to him and said, I cannot watch this. How would anyone like that done to them? This is not a sport, it is cruelty. I saw the cowboy on the horse throw the rope and lasso the poor young calf by its hind legs. His face slammed unto the floor. The cowboy got off his horse and ran to the frightened calf and took the rope and tied its front legs as well. I had to get up and go! Not only was I horrified at what that animal experienced but how the crowd was loving, applauding, and enjoying this blatant cruelty.

I will not ever attend the NM State Fair except, to protest this and every other animal abuse you see there under the guise of entertainment. Even though the NM State Fair is celebrated and supported by many businesses and individuals who may well be unaware of the violence involved. I truly understand that my point of views is not popular, especially in a region that glorifies ranching and cowboy culture. My hope, however, is that our community is willing to question traditions that come at the expense of others.

Rodeos are marketed to the public as family entertainment. However, it is only a display of human domination, torment, and cruelty to animals. Horses, bulls, steer, and calves suffer broken ribs, backs, and legs, torn tails, punctured lungs, internal organ damage, ripped tendons, torn ligaments, snapped necks, and agonizing deaths. They are captive participants.

Those animals who manage to make it through unscathed are given not enough time to rest or recuperate before they are loaded into trucks, hauled to the next event, forced to participate again and again. When they become too old or worn out to continue, “retirement” is often a one-way trip to the slaughterhouse.

Many of these animals are not aggressive by nature; they are physically provoked into displaying “wild” behavior to make the cowboys look brave. Brutality is what truly is at play.

I do have hope though as more and more people are becoming aware of just how cruel these events are for the animals who are forced to participate. Already, rodeos around the world are being banned in locations such as Britain, Europe, Australia, and even some in the US.

James Serpell put it this way in his book, In the Company of Animals

It is perhaps exaggerated to claim, as one author has, that the rodeo is 'the modern equivalent of the public hanging'. Nevertheless, these performances hinge on the violent subjugation of living animals, some of which are deliberately incited to frenzied violence by raking them with spurs, constricting the genital region with leather straps, or by thrusting an electric prod into the rectal area. At the same time they are often given bogus, malevolent names in order to deflect sympathy from their plight. Occasionally, they are maimed or killed, and many are forced to undergo the same terrifying ordeal several times a day. Yet the rodeo is presented to the American public as a harmless, red-blooded entertainment in which the cowboy – the epitome of wholesome, manly virtue – uses his courage and skill to overcome and subdue untamable, outlaw stock. Doubtless, the Romans employed similar fantasies to justify their activities in the Circus Maximus.

So again, I ask you, “Entertainment for Whom?”