Sunday, September 21, 2008

Cotton Rosser: Cruel?




True Story: This scene was witnessed by my friend Glen Bundy at the Dixie Roundup a few years ago.


Big strapping Bulldogger asks gently-- "Why ya' protesting the rodeo, son?"



PETA Protester responds with shrill confidence-- "Rodeo is cruel and inhumane to animals!"


Bulldogger, completely flumoxed-- "Well son, it was cruel and inhumane the day your momma had you, but she did it anyway, didn't she?"




I woke up to this headline about Cotton Rosser in the Deseret News after the Ute Stampede in Nephi one July morning: Rodeo contractor is accused of cruelty . There will never be a shortage of kooks in this world. Unfortunately, the animal welfare movement has been hijacked by the most frayed ends of the fringes. They often create more abuse than they stop on several different levels. Take for example the current despair in the horse market. The recent banning of horse slaughter in the U.S. has eliminated one viable outlet for horses that have outlived their usefulness, and it came at the climax of other pressures like soaring property, energy, and hay costs. Now, the horse rescues are full and begging for hay; the horses that do see slaughter are enduring horrific conditions during transport to Mexico or Canada; the BLM is seeing the illegal abandonment of horses on public land; and more and more horses are found starving and neglected on farms that can no longer afford to keep up with the spiraling cost of feeding them. UPDATE: Speaking of KOOKS, here is another example of the unintended consequences and moral bankruptcy of these groups in my local evening news.


Rodeo. The greatest show on Earth...one of the most patriotic pieces of Americana in the sporting world, happens to be about the cushiest job most livestock could ever hope to have. They work mere seconds at a time, a couple of times a week during the Rodeo season. They live long and prosperous lives. Rodeo cowboys on the other hand, use themselves up chasing the dream. Its a grand spectacle.


This week we celebrated the heady goodness of Rodeo with family and friends at the Dixie Roundup. Centered around our livestock, we paraded, and pranced across town and around the old Sunbowl as part of the pre-show Grand Entry. I sure ejoyed sharing it with my sisters who I rarely see, my parents who just got home from a mission in Alaska, and one of my employees whose family was seeing it for the first time through New Hampshire eyes. Kayla, you were cute on that long-eared horse!

2 comments:

shauna said...

I cannot believe you had the self control to keep your promise and not give me the "ride of my life." You must be gettin' old. Like me.

Thanks for the great time in St. George. You and your family are such wonderful hosts.

Rodeo On!

Nicole said...

Hi, just browsing through your blog (I LOVE your mules! Can't wait to have one of my own!) and saw what you said about horse slaughter. I couldn't agree more. The "kooks" as you put it (haha) think they are doing the right thing by shutting down the slaughter houses in the US but they don't realize how much damage they are causing and how much worse they are making things for the crippled, starved, ill, and/or old horses that can't do what's asked of them anymore or can't live life without being in pain constantly. They are prolonging the suffering for those horses by keeping them alive AND flooding the market with undesirable horses. It's a shame they refuse to see what's going on here. Just thought I'd say hi and kudos to you =)