Discussions about animal welfare in the American rodeo industry can become heated — we’ve seen it happen before in the pages of AGDAILY, and it’s common within the comment sections of mainstream publications.
Part of what makes talking about this Western sport so complicated is that the rodeo circuit is broad, with several sanctioning bodies — such as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA), and the Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA) — having their own guidelines. Not to mention that a notable percentage of rodeos in the U.S. are officially unsanctioned.
Rodeos’ roots date back centuries, where, starting in the 1700s, it inherited many practices from Spanish ranchers and their Mexican ranch hands. The blending of Anglo and Spanish-Mexican cultures led to the birth of the American cowboy era in the 1800s. Today, the Colorado-based PRCA is the oldest and largest professional rodeo-sanctioning body in the world, and with 650 events annually, it says it sanctions about 30 percent of U.S. rodeos, while 50 percent are sanctioned by other groups and 20 percent are unsanctioned.
This would mean that there are about 2,200 rodeos in the U.S. each year.
Perhaps the most public-facing aspect of this sport revolves around perceptions of animal welfare.
“The animal athletes in modern American rodeo are treated in some regards almost as celebrities, especially with the bucking horses and bulls. With the roping cattle as well, their value is almost double the agricultural value that they may have as a food-producing animal,” said Dr. Sina Parsaye, owner of Parsaye Veterinary Service, a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and a sponsor of the Colorado State University Rodeo Club. “Given their value, the stock contractors have a significant financial stake — as well as an ethical stake — in making sure their animals thrive (both as a competition athlete and as an agricultural commodity).”
According to American Bucking Bull, a young animal with DNA-verified parentage can be worth as much as $100,000 if it has superstar bloodlines. And a proven bucking bull can be worth as much as $500,000. Moreover, rodeo performance horses used for barrel racing and roping at places like Rancho Rio in Arizona sell for an average of $54,409, with top horses regularly commanding over $90,000.
“Typically the animals are housed in well ventilated areas and provided shelter from the elements,” Parsaye explained. “High quality feed and grain are the standard to make sure the animals feel their best. It is in everyone’s interest (rodeo contestants, stock contractors, spectators, etc.) for the animal athletes to be in great physical shape. The rodeo veterinarian is tasked with evaluating all animal athletes for health and fitness to compete; if there are concerns the veterinarian is able to help make decisions with the rodeo judges and staff.”
However, the animal welfare constituency argues that the animals used in these events are “exploited” and that hundreds of animals are injured or killed each year.
Some animal welfare groups oppose rodeo events outright, while others don’t say they oppose the events themselves but rather more surgically say they oppose any animal mistreatment at rodeos. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, for example, says, it “is opposed to all rodeo events that involve cruel, painful, stressful and potentially harmful treatment of animals, not only in performance but also in handling, transport and prodding to perform.”
» Further reading: A brief history of rodeo in the United States
In an email to AGDAILY, Eric Mills of California-based Action for Animals stated, “For most, the rodeo arena is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. Rodeo animals are not trained to perform, as could be said for racehorses or racing greyhounds. They are provoked into their bizarre behaviors in the arena via the noise, fear, weight of the cowboy, spurs, flank straps, indiscriminate use of ‘hotshots,’ tail-twisting, kicks, and slaps.”
In his correspondences, Mills brought forth many things he has said over the years in Letters to the Editor and comments at other publications. But he declined to respond further when asked to provide sources for some of his statements, which included him saying non-PRCA rodeo events don’t provide veterinary care, there being upwards of 5,000 to 10,000 rodeos annually, or how some veterinarians claim calves are injured every time they are roped or tied.
“My overall take on animal welfare in the American rodeo industry is that from both the competitor and stock contractor (animal owner) side, animal welfare and the public awareness of animal husbandry practices has become a top priority,” Parsaye noted. “With social media and any event being videoed and public — it has changed how both competitors and stock contractors need to consider their own practices that may be standard in the industry but perceived differently by the public.
In an article published in 2023, the Monterey County Weekly described rodeos thusly:
“To the untrained eye, some rodeo events look like vicious human-animal battles. Put them in context, and they start to look more like practices used by ranchers in the American West for well over a century.
“Consider tie-down roping, in which a cowboy’s object is to lasso a calf as quickly as possible — from horseback — then to dismount from his horse, tie three of the calf’s legs together, and remount his horse, all while the horse is responsible for ensuring the rope is tight, with no slack.
“Change the background from a rodeo arena to an open pasture. All of a sudden, these same actions are not for sport. They are a method for cowboys to isolate a sick or injured calf for medical treatment.”
That article goes on to list instances that have gained the attention of animal welfare groups, including a lawsuit against California Rodeo Salinas over how many injured animals are reported (the judge ruled in favor of the rodeo). But it all goes to concerns across the board about how animals are handled at these events.
Sanctioning bodies have published rules related to veterinary care and punishments for animal mistreatment. Among them:
- PRCA: “A veterinarian must be on-site at all PRCA-sanctioned rodeos. … Any PRCA member caught using unnecessary roughness or abusing an animal may be immediately disqualified from the rodeo and fined. This holds true whether it is in the competitive arena or elsewhere on the rodeo grounds.”
- IPRA: “A veterinarian shall be in attendance, or reasonably available at every rodeo, and will attend to any injured animal after its removal from the arena. Should destruction of an animal be recommended, such destruction will take place as soon as possible and shall be carried out by the most humane means possible. … Arena help may be fired and/or contestant may be disqualified for any mistreatment of stock.”
- WRCA: “If livestock is involved, the event shall ensure that a veterinarian is present or on call. … No animal shall be treated inhumanely by any contestant. No Exceptions.”
Even individual events have specializations that make them unique.
“One misconception is that the team roping steers are not fed and they are skinny,” said Carrie Zambrano, an Arizona rancher who runs a livestock contracting company for premium Corriente roping steers used in team roping and rodeo events. “On the contrary, Corriente cattle are a smaller, leaner breed of cattle. No matter the amount of feed they are given, they will never look like the fat round beef cattle you see on television or in the movies. These cattle are athletes, and are taken care of as such. …
“When a contractor first gets their cattle, they are processed: given inoculations, looked over for health, and often sorted by size,” added Zambrano, who has been involved in rodeo her entire life. “After a time adjustment, the steers are taught how to be roped safely. This is done to teach the steers how to be handled, when to turn, and where to go in the arena. During the training period, for example, steers are introduced to horn wraps — thick felt and webbed ‘wraps’ that cover the top of the head, go around the horns and the ears to protect the steer from rope burns.”
While rodeo opponents such as Mills fixate on a single tragedy from 1995, things across the country have changed significantly since that era. Everything from automotive safety to communication to international trade evolves from decade to decade, and rodeo has done likewise.
Parsaye said some of the most noteworthy developments in rodeo have been:
- The presence of veterinarians during performances of professional and collegiate rodeo.
- Veterinarian assessments of the health and well-being of all animal athletes present.
- Rodeo athletes are being fined by sanctioning bodies for any mistreatment of the animals.
Parsaye said he “would like to see better explanation and openness with the public on how and why the animals are used the way they are, and an explanation of the practices they may see (i.e. ropes and flank straps) so that the public knows how and why they are used, without any misconceptions floating around. Just as in any industry, there are good people, and there are bad people. Sadly, the organizations that view rodeo negatively will showcase the worst instances and use that to describe the industry as a whole.”
And in adding one final thought from Zambrano, “From the outside, rodeo and its various events are exciting, and may seem harsh to the livestock. What many don’t know is the extensive amount care and training that goes into the livestock user for rodeo.”
