Los Angeles Votes to Ban Rodeos in the City - Because They Have Nothing More Pressing to Do

I'm not a sportsball guy; many people have badly underestimated how little I know about baseball, football, and the various other sportsball franchises. For most, I know the shape of the ball, and that's about it. Mind you, I have nothing against spectator sports; it's just not an interest I ever developed, having spent most of my youth outdoors, hunting, fishing, and trapping. But one thing that has caught my eye at times is the pro rodeo circuit, partly because my second cousin rode bulls for a while, partly because I grew up around stock. I remember one televised rodeo in particular; it may have been from the Denver Stock Show, but at this distance in time, I don't remember. At any rate, my wife and I were watching the bronc riding. A rider was on a particularly mean horse that, when he came out of the gate, somersaulted and smashed the rider underneath. As I recall (again, it's been a long time), the rider suffered broken collarbones, a concussion, broken ribs, and a cracked pelvis.

And then he finished the ride. When the horse came up, he was still in the saddle. He hadn't pulled leather (grabbed the saddle.) He rode until the bell, and they took him out on a stretcher. I thought at the time, "If I'm ever in a bar fight, one of those real donnybrooks that end up in broken bones, cops coming in riot gear, and a few hospital stays, I want that guy on my side." Rodeo riders are some of the toughest athletes you'll find anywhere.

Now, the City of Los Angeles, with nothing better to do, has voted to ban rodeos from the city limits.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban rodeos in the city despite opposition by some in L.A.’s Latino equestrian community, who painted the crackdown as an attack on their culture.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the west San Fernando Valley, led the council in passing the ban, describing in graphic detail the broken bones and pain endured by rodeo animals.
The vote, which passed 14 to 0 with Councilmember Nithya Raman absent, asks the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance outlawing rodeos in the city.

This is a city, mind you, where the streets look like this:

So, yes, they have nothing better to do. Clearly, the homeless problem, illegal immigrants, industrial-scale shoplifting, all those things have been addressed, right?

The move was met with opposition from Hispanic and black rodeo athletes. One of the former had this to say:

"There's no damage done to these horses," said Juan Diaz, seated atop his horse Tuesday outside City Hall. "These horses are out (sic) life. We care for these animals as if they were our family. So, if it dies out… where's our heritage going?"

While a member of the latter said:

“It’s all based on a lie – that we allegedly mistreat rodeo animals when in fact we love our animals and have stringent rules and guidelines in place to ensure their safety and well-being,” says Valeria Howard-Cunningham, President, Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.

In point of fact, the pro rodeo circuit has strict animal welfare requirements.

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) athletes value their animals, as do the PRCA stock contractors that provide the livestock for the rodeos. Like most people, PRCA members believe animals should be provided proper care and treatment. The PRCA and its members value their animals and staunchly protect them with specifically created rules.
Consistent proper treatment of animals by PRCA members – in and out of the arena – has been well documented by veterinarians who have witnessed the health and condition of the animals first hand.
Scottsdale, Arizona equine veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Schleining has this to say about the PRCA, “The PRCA upholds the standard of humane care of rodeo animal athletes, and in my professional opinion rodeo remains a healthy, humane, family oriented sport.”

Sadly, this sort of thing is nothing new coming from the leftist-run cities of the left coast. Real problems, like those noted above, get hand-waved away while city officials indulge themselves in blatant virtue-signalling over a problem that doesn't exist.

Rodeo, both on the PRCA pro circuit and in amateur/local rodeos all over the country, is a sport that is not only traditional but has a long history, not just in the United States but in Mexico and points south as far as Patagonia. The pro circuit has veterinary attendants whose job it is to see to the welfare of the animals. Yes, there are, on occasion, injuries to animals and humans alike — the LA City Council, by the way, doesn't seem too concerned about the latter — as there are in almost any activity involving either. Humans are injured all the time in sportsball games, and having grown up around stock, I can testify that horses can be injured in something as prosaic as walking across a pasture where woodchucks have been active.

The Los Angeles City Council should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of dealing with that city's many, many real problems, they are wasting their time and the taxpayer's money in virtue-signalling.

See more animal/animal rights-related RedState stories at these links: