This Photo Completely Captures the Ridiculous Nature of Rodeos

For many people, rodeos may still seem like quite harmless events. Rodeos are traditional and seem to have been around forever … so how could they not be a prime example of “good, clean fun?!”

Well, in reality, just like other types of “entertainment” that exploit animals, rodeos are may be a fun time for the audience, but for the animals forced to perform, more often than not, their treatment ranks within animal abuse. Rodeos can feature bull riding, calf roping or steer wrestling, and the amount of stress and painful handling of the animals is simply impossible to accept.

A photo recently published by Unparalleled Suffering Photography captures the senselessness and cruelty of rodeos. “At rodeos horses are used for all types of reasons from riding and bucking to circus acts that always cause them strong feelings of distress, pain, and fear,” the photographer shared.

During calf roping, young animals who can be only a few weeks old are forced to run at high speeds before they are suddenly and painfully yanked off the ground so the “cowboy” can tie their feet together. Steer wrestling consists of a cowboy chasing the animal, jumping on them, and then painfully twisting their necks to get them to submit. All animals used in rodeos are under immense stress and are clearly treated as objects whose only role is to allow the participants to show their questionable skills and misplaced strength. Rodeos, in their very nature, are based on using brutal strength towards animals. This needless suffering is impossible to justify – and certainly not by the claims of entertainment.

Image source: Unparalleled Suffering Photography/Facebook