Rodeo industry bucks Los Angeles City Council bid to bust up sport

Rodeo organizers are calling bull on a Los Angeles City Council proposal to hogtie the sport in the name of animal rights.

A coalition of more than 50 rodeo, equestrian and bull-riding groups is bucking the animal abuse narrative to fight a draft ordinance that would effectively ban rodeo-style Western sports in Los Angeles.

“If this ordinance is enacted in LA, we will no longer have rodeo, bull riding and various equestrian events in LA,” the Western Sports Industry Coalition said in a statement. “Not only that, but other cities will follow with their own rodeo bans. We can’t overstate how important it is to shut this down NOW.”

Introduced last year by council member Bob Blumenfield, the measure would prohibit participation in “rodeos or rodeo-related events” in which animals are “encouraged to perform through the use of any practice or technique … that will cause, or is likely to cause, physical injury, torment, or suffering.”

The draft language includes an outright ban on “electric prods or shocking devices, flank or bucking straps, wire tie-downs, sharpened or fixed spurs or rowels, and lariats or lassos.”

Last Chance for Animals, the Los Angeles animal rights group pushing for the ordinance, has 20 billboards urging residents to “help ban torture devices at the rodeo.”

“The rodeo is not a sport,” Last Chance founder and President Chris DeRose said in a Feb. 7 op-ed in the Los Angeles Daily News. “Rather, it is a public display of animal abuse, consisting of terrified bulls and horses trying to get away from something that is causing them fear, pain, and discomfort.”

A showdown is expected Tuesday as the two sides converge for competing protests pegged to the Professional Bull Riders tour event at Crypto.com Arena, formerly the Staples Center.

David Duquette, president and executive director of Western Justice, which organized the pro-rodeo coalition, slammed the assertions of “torture.” He said the reports of abuse are decades out of date and that the modern sport is tightly regulated.

“Blumenfield and these animal rights groups regurgitate that stuff from back in the ’70s,” Mr. Duquette told The Washington Times. “Well, there weren’t nearly as many regulations on rodeo back in the ’70s. Now it’s down to a science, and they are very, very strict on their regulations.”

The coalition said electric prods are used only for safety purposes in accordance with California law and the charge is mild, akin to a shock from static electricity.

Flank straps are made of cotton and tied loosely around what would be the waist of a human to cue bulls, not to force them to buck. Tie-downs are used to ensure horses’ safety by keeping their heads down in certain situations. Sharpened spurs are not permitted, said the coalition.

Sean Gleason, president of Professional Bull Riders, said the proposed ordinance “tries to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”

“PBR has many rules in place to ensure our animal athletes — the true rock stars of the sport — are treated very well,” Mr. Gleason said. “The equipment we use does not coerce or harm the animal athletes in any way. No one can force a bull to buck; they’re bred to do so.”

Both sides have posted Change.org online petitions. Western Justice had garnered nearly 29,000 signatures as of Monday; Last Chance had nearly 7,000.

A vital issue is animal injuries. Last Chance said on its petition that Peggy Larson, a veterinarian and former bronco rider, reviewed recent footage of Professional Bull Riders. She concluded that “overall, these bulls are forced to buck beyond their normal bucking patterns which makes them susceptible to injuries including broken legs.”

A February 2021 summary by the City Council’s animal welfare committee said animals “suffer significant injuries during common rodeo events such as bull and bronc riding, steer wrestling, and calf roping.”

“Many animals are put down as a result of injuries sustained during these events,” the committee said.

Mr. Duquette called the report “ridiculous.”

“They’ve got some outrageous number about how many animals die at rodeo. They can’t even begin to prove that,” Mr. Duquette said. “There are all kinds of comments they make about these animals, and they’re just ridiculous, to be honest. They have no basis in truth.”

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, which tracks and reports injuries to the California Veterinary Medical Board, reported a 99.9% safety rating. It said less than 1% of livestock exposures result in injury.

Injuries or fatalities to bulls occur in 0.0002% of “come-outs,” meaning every time a bull comes out of the chute, according to Professional Bull Riders.

“PBR events showcase animal care, cowboy values and an inclusive Western heritage while bringing millions of dollars in local economic impact to Los Angeles,” Mr. Gleason said.

Several municipalities have cracked down on rodeos in the past 30 years, starting with Pittsburgh in 1992. The list now includes St. Petersburg, Florida; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Pasadena and Irvine in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles has an extensive horse culture. An estimated 90,000 horses reside in the city and county, said Dale Gibson, president of the city’s equine advisory committee.

He accused the council of failing to consult with the panel on the motion, which he said would not only “crush dreams of our young riders, but will push another multibillion-dollar industry out of Los Angeles.”

“These animals are fed and cared for at the highest levels to ensure long careers,” Mr. Gibson said in a Feb. 10 letter to the council. “In exchange for a few seconds of riding, bucking or roping, they are accorded a long and productive life.”

Professional Bull Riders argued that becoming a bucking bull is like “winning the animal lottery.” It said the animals enjoy the “first-class life of a professional athlete” with prime food, training and medical care before retiring at a relatively young age to stud.

Animal rights is a hot-button issue in California, but so is diversity. Rodeo advocates say the proposed ordinance would ban events hosted by Black, Hispanic and American Indian organizations that pay tribute to their Western heritage.

Among those fighting the proposed ordinance are the Compton Cowboys, whose mission is to “uplift the city through horses and farming lifestyle,” and the historic Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, which “celebrates and honors Black Cowboys and Cowgirls and their contributions to building the West.”

Then there are the charreadas, popular Mexican-themed rodeos hosted by groups such as ProCharro and the Union de Asociaciones de Charros del Estado de California.

“There’s a deep-rooted history with the vaqueros and the charros,” Mr. Duquette said. “The first, quote, rodeo was in Texas, but the charros and the vaqueros did competitions like this starting back before California was a state. So the history in LA is huge.”

The ordinance could also spell trouble for equestrian events at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The measure defines “rodeo” as events that feature bronco riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing, chuckwagon races “or other similar event or activity,” which opponents fear could be interpreted to include show jumping.

Any attempt to carve out an exception for the Olympics would invite a lawsuit, Mr. Duquette said.

Animal rights advocates worry that the pro-rodeo message may be resonating. Last Chance for Animals said the motion stalled in committee and that the council had not responded to its request to ban Tuesday’s bull riding event.

“The rodeo industry has [lobbied] heavily for the city council to vote against the pending bill. It is important for all of us to speak up against the rodeo performing in Los Angeles,” the group said in a Feb. 2 post. “There is no excuse for animal abuse.”

Mr. Duquette said he has received hundreds of comments declaring that the rodeo should wash its hands of Los Angeles instead of fighting the ordinance, but he argued that “that mindset is what has got us to where we’re at.”

“When the second-largest city in the United States goes down, it starts to drift out to all the others,” he said. “That’s what we don’t want to see happen.”