December 16, 2002

Steve Hatchell, Commissioner
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
101 Pro Rodeo Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Dear Mr. Hatchell:

As you may recall, I wrote you last year on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) more than 750,000 members and supporters to ask that you include in your animal welfare rules a ban on calf roping. This year, we’re calling on you again to ban calf roping, and the use of the flank strap and rope. Just this past Thursday, we witnessed the violent and needless death of a “bucking” bull, Freeloader. Having an on-site veterinarian at your events did not prevent Freeloader from being horribly injured and will not prevent other animals from suffering miserably at the rodeo. The rodeo is not a sport, it is a macho bully fest.

Please consider that the horses and bulls used during the events buck violently and beyond their normal ability because of the straps and ropes cinched tightly around their abdomen, often causing injuries such as a fractured spine or neck and paralysis, leading to death.

During calf roping, calves, running at speeds of up to 27 miles per hour, are jerked off their feet by a rope slung around their necks and then slammed to the ground. The calves may suffer paralysis, throat and neck injuries, and broken bones. Many die. Calves have become paralyzed from severe spinal cord injury, and their tracheas have been totally or partially severed. On December 9, 2000, at the PRCA National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, a calf was removed on a stretcher after being severely injured. These are not isolated events. Since 1995 the following incidents have occurred:

• July 13, 2002/Calgary, Canada: A calf suffered a broken leg during a roping event and was euthanized.
  
  
• May 24, 2002/San Diego County, Calif.: A bucking bull appeared to have broken a leg during the Western Days Valley Center Rodeo. He hobbled across the arena, dragging one leg behind him. Rodeo officials subsequently issued conflicting stories that the bull was being sent to Colorado for breeding and that he had been treated and was back home and healthy. Riverside County Animal Control confirmed that the bull was sent to slaughter.
  
  
• October 31, 2001/Kansas City, Mo.: A calf was unable to move and had to be removed from the arena after being roped around the neck and thrown to the ground and having his legs bound during a calf-roping event.
  
  
• December 9, 2001/Las Vegas, Nev.: During a bareback- riding event at the National Finals Rodeo, a rider flew over a horse’s head, causing the horse to flip over him and to suffer a broken back. The paralyzed horse was euthanized.
  
  
• February 4, 2000/San Antonio, Texas: A horse snapped his spine during a bareback bronco-riding event. Paralyzed, the horse dragged himself by his front legs across the stadium before collapsing. The horse was euthanized. Rodeo officials said that this incident and “a couple of calves with fractured legs” were “freak accidents.”
  
  
• March 2, 1998/Houston, Texas: A steer suffered a broken neck during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo steer-wrestling competition, and two calves suffered broken legs during the calf-roping events.
  
  
• July 15, 1997/Calgary, Canada: A bull at the Calgary Stampede kicked so high that his leg became wedged in the chute gate. His leg was completely fractured above his fetlock, exposing the bone. The bull had to be euthanized.
  
  
• July 23, 1995/Salinas, Calif.: In the California Rodeo, a calf died after breaking his neck during a calf-roping event.

The potential for animals to suffer broken legs, necks, and backs always exists as long as they are being forced to act aggressive through the use of tools, such as the bucking strap, the electric prod, and spurs.

The city of Pittsburgh recently turned down a request to reintroduce the bucking strap, which was banned because it is so cruelly used. Please show the world, by eliminating calf-roping events and the use of bucking straps, that there is some limit to what the PRCA will do for a buck. We hope to hear something positive from you.

Sincerely,



Kristie Phelps, Senior Coordinator
International Grassroots Campaigns