Let's hoot 'n hollar, drink some beer and watch some critters die!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/07/13/calgary-chuck-wagon-horse-death-folo.html

.

"It is long past time our society outgrew the barbaric practice of abusing animals for entertainment … The most popular excuses for continuing this archaic barbarism distil down to:

1. Tradition: Treating animals this way should be continued because it was done in the past.

2. Comparison: This should be tolerated because someone else somewhere else in some way is doing something worse. The obvious reality that both these excuses are irrational, illogical, ethically repugnant, and wackadoodle nonsense demonstrate the kind of people that support allowing rodeos and events like the chuckwagon races to continue."

- Dennis Brady

How about being tolerant of others?
Remember how Monica got all uppity because some redneck on a mountain bike was scaring frogs?
She wanted to stop all mountain biking.
I think an argument could be made (not by me, but by someone who actually cares) that squishing frogs is tantamount to roping cows.

Ermmm - hate to point this out but the majority of rodeo events have their origin in actual ranch operational practices.

Difference with calf roping on the ranch is that it generally also involves castration and branding….

And anyone who thinks a calf is a cuddly, huggy soft and cute animal has never tried to wrestle one to the ground. They are tough, solid smelly buggers who you, as a human, cannot possibly hurt.

….who you, as a human, cannot possibly hurt.

my sarcasm meter is broken?

Were the horses tortured? Did they live a good life until the accident?
I'm sure they will make more rules to try and keep the sport alive yet still protect the
horses. The horse owners don't want their horses to die, every horse owner/trainer I've
ever known/met loved their horses and the look on that guys face tells the story. Even
the 0.0001% of horse owners that don't love their horses still have a monetary investment
in a trained animal to not want to lose that investment.

I have no problems with rodeos, there are a lot of cows and horses, they aren't going extinct.

So tungsten, how come you never show outrage at the less cute and lovable creatures that
are being killed and being depopulated (like sharks)?

Hunting in Louisiana would be a better fit to this thread title. They kill ugly reptiles (alligators) and cute mammals (squirrels). What kind of a monster hunts squirrels!

The gator hunt down there is strictly regulated, the fact that alligator numbers are stronger
than they have been in decades proves the viability and success of their program.

Squirrels I hear taste good (never tried one, they look too much like a rat when cooked.
Plus, there's just too much work, it's like eating frog legs or crabs.

it's like eating frog legs or crabs.

So it's like dating a girl from Surrey?

my sarcasm meter is broken?

I should have been specific - a human, without weapons, going mano-ee-cow-o could never actually hurt a calf.

hmmmmm..my family out of the AB does the whole barrel racing /chuck wagon thing for like 30 yrs..

many a belt buckle on that side of the family.. and with what i have seen i'm going to have to say you wrong suckah.

I'm guessing the typical Albertan ranch man weighs more than the typical NSMB forum member :P

I'm guessing the typical Albertan ranch man weighs more than the typical NSMB forum member :P

Tough call. Real cowboys are usually pretty lean by the end of the ranching season thanks to really long work days. Now farmers, often confused with cowboys, may be a tad pudgier on average if they're driving combine or grain truck all day.

I'd be willing to guess that the average human injury to animal injury ratio is heavily
tilted in the animals favor. I see a lot more humans being carted out of the arenas than
animals. Is it necessary in todays modern assembly line farming? Probably not, but ironically
it seems to me that these skills might be needed in the free range/organic style farming
that is en vogue.