Pro rodeo an antiquated form of entertainment
Shame on Viejas Casino for supporting the rodeo this weekend. Shame on San Diego for allowing this type of “entertainment.” Can we not find better ways to entertain ourselves today than bored cowhands herding cattle across the plains used in the 1800s?
Calf roping entails sending a calf running into the arena at full speed, then sending a cowboy on a horse out to rope him around the neck. When the calf reaches the end of the rope he is jerked backwards, is sent hurtling through the air, then crashes onto the ground. He may land on his head, twisting or even breaking his neck. Broken ribs, legs or necks are not uncommon. Team roping includes two riders who rope either end of a steer, often pulling the animal tightly from both ends, often twisting the neck and forcing the animal onto the ground. What fun is there in that? There is certainly none for the animal, and there shouldn’t be for us, in seeing him terrified and hurt.
This is certainly not something that children should be exposed to. We ought to teach them to be kind to animals, whether that animal be a dog, cat, or rodeo steer.
Dozens of animals have been killed in recent years, and hundreds more have been injured. This is not a sport. It’s sick.
Below is a list of some of the many ways animals are mistreated at rodeos:
To force them into the chute, they are hit with sticks and kicked in the back and rear. I documented this myself.
While in the chute, their tails are twisted, pulled, and raked on the metal bars so that they will bolt from the chute as quickly as possible when it opens.
Calf roping entails cowboys on horseback roping the running calves from behind, then jumping off, forcing them to the ground, and tying them up.
The calves are jerked backwards when they reach the end of the rope. They are flung through the air and hurled onto the ground.
Injuries, and even fatalities, are not uncommon for rodeo animals. These injuries include broken bones such as ribs, legs and necks, ruptured ligaments, punctured lungs, severed tracheas, and blood accumulated under the skin.
A bucking horse died from a head injury at a Santa Barbara rodeo in 1999. Five animals were killed at the California Rodeo/Salinas in 1995. Four horses died the preceding week at the Calgary Stampede. These are just a few instances. The list goes on.
Bulls are often shocked with cattle prods, even though it is illegal in California to shock them for entertainment purposes, unless humans are in danger.
Bulls and horses have their abdomens bound so that they will buck more, and they are sometimes rubbed raw with ropes or leather straps.
Other points to make about the rodeo:
The rodeo participants do not own the animals. The animals are brought in by stock contractors who ship the animals to various rodeos.
The rodeo does not demonstrate skills used in the old west. A rancher might enjoy watching a rodeo, but no rancher would allow ranch hands to mistreat his/her animals the way animals are mistreated in rodeo events.
Viejas Casino is a corporate sponsor of the event, as well as the Lakeside Rodeo.
Ramy Hassan, San Diego

Fuel tanks should respect neighborhood
In 1992 we moved to the La Playa area of Point Loma. At that time the adjacent Navy property was almost like a preserve. Even though the fuel tanks were there they were not immediately apparent. The vegetation was so lush the land supported a wide variety of wildlife, including coveys of quail. We thought the Navy were great neighbors. The property was dark at night for better viewing of downtown lights as well as stars.
Within the last six years, they have systematically removed most vegetation and replaced it with gunite. They have installed penitentiary style lights as well as a razor wire topped wall. The leaking tanks have turned the property into a toxic waste dump.
At the informational meeting, the base commander said all these tanks will be replaced with 10 super tanks. The placement of these tanks is a concern to all in the area. According to the detail map given at the meeting the new tanks will be sited directly adjacent to the residential area where the current ones have seeped 1.1 million gallons of fuel. If they are going to remove all the tanks why do they need to place the new ones next to the fence? Why can’t they move them south away from residential areas?
The very least the Navy could do would be to install a screen hedge that would minimize the visual impact of these much larger tanks.I hope they will take their neighbors into consideration when they are making these decisions which impact all of us in La Playa.
Marye Short, La Playa