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Olympic Rodeo Update Despite massive international appeals, including those from former Olympians, the rodeo was held at the Olympics. Because of the efforts of thousands of caring people, resulting in phenomenal media coverage detailing how animals suffer in rodeos, the public education value of the uproar is something to celebrate. "I did not realize how much controversy it would create and how big a hornets’ nest I had stepped into," Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) President Mitt Romney told Reuters on Saturday, February 2. The sorry spectacle of animal abuse was presented as a contest between the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Canada Professional Rodeo Association, but the animals, who suffered tremendously, were, of course, the real losers. Animal activists obtained undercover footage of rodeo participants pulling the tails of steer and calves despite promises made by SLOC president Mitt Romney and committee member Ray Grant. As rodeo organizers acknowledged in a recent Reuters article, without the use of tail-pulling and -twisting, electric prods, flank straps cinched tightly around the animals’ groins, and spurs, the normally tame, docile animals would not display wild behavior. "The rodeo riders turned down SLOC requests to remove their spurs as they said the horses would not buck without being spurred. Riders also refused to remove a strap buckled to the groins of horses and bulls for the same reason." Rodeo does not belong anywhere near the Olympics. Rodeo is inherently cruel and violent to animals and violates the Olympic Charter’s requirements for ethics, fair play, and nonviolence. Please write to Olympic organizers and demand that this be the last time that animals are abused in a showcase of culture of any country or for any Olympic sport. WRITE TO:
Click here to read more about the history of this campaign. |
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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; 757-622-PETA | Disclaimer |