Protesting the 'Canadian Finals Rodeo'

It was a chillingly cold and snowy day for a protest, however, the cruelty that these animals endure on the rodeo circuit are beyond cruel and inhumane, and being out in the cold is nothing compared to what these beings are subjected to day after day for their entire lives. Little baby calves who haven't even been weaned yet, are treated as mere objects for the 'calf roping event'. This entails riding on a horse and throwing a rope around the calves neck, and then jumping off the horse and slamming them to the ground and wrapping the rest of the rope around three of it's four legs. The participant that finishes with the fastest time is declared the winner of that specific event. Just the day before our protest, a baby calf had to be euthanized on the spot as it was badly injured in an event that went horribly wrong. A participant of the rodeo stated "Quickly the calf was treated humanely, and was out of the arena and cared for by our on-sight staff and veterinarian in the most humane procedures that we have." In his quote, he's justifying that the calf was given the best care possible, but that's not the point, the point is that this specific event shouldn't even exist, and neither should the entire fucking rodeo for that matter. If the roles were reversed and little baby toddlers who were only a few weeks old were used as mere objects for sport; this alone would cause a massive outrage and be world wide news. But because they are non-human person's, they don't matter. It's an outrageous double standard, and a true knock on humanity, especially the participants and people who pay to watch it.


Now I didn't realize until after the protest that there was so much money to be made at an event such as the 'Canadian Final's Rodeo'. I believe there was a total of $1.5 million dollars at stake for the winner's of various events during the four day rodeo, that occurs every year in the month of November. It's just another unfortunate example of human beings exploiting animals out of mere entertainment and greed. I have to say that of all the protests i've ever been to, and including my time on the front lines in Taiji, Japan, i've never witnessed so much resentment and hostility toward a peaceful group of activists. They were yelling obscenities at us as they crossed the busy street, even people in their cars driving by would roll down their windows and try to get a rise out of us, or just shake their heads out of disgust. They certainly feel like no harm is being done to these animals, even though a baby calf had to be put down the night before. One older gentleman who was traveling to the event by cab rolled down his window and said, "It's the best sport in the world." I didn't say anything back, I rarely do. However, I was thinking he must be some what aloof to the other professional sports that happen without the exploitation of animals, such as hockey or football.

I  really don't know if we succeeded in changing anyone's opinion on the issue of animal exploitation in the rodeo, but one can hope. If even one mind is changed, then that is a success. Regardless on the outcome, we have to continue to speak up and lend our voice for the innocent beings who deserve to be free from the confines of such a vile industry.

“To me, you’re either an activist or an inactivist.” - Louie Psihoyos

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. A big thanks to voice for animals, and for the dedicated activists whom braved that chilly weather. Thanks also to the very dedicated activists, Anna, Sara and Val. It was great to protest with you all once again.

Damian


Below is a very short video news link on our protest.
http://globalnews.ca/video/957727/cfr-protests

(Photo was taken by 'Voice for Animal's')