Subjects: LAW, ANW
Humane Groups Sue Agencies to Stop Cruel Mexican-Style Rodeos
CHICAGO, Aug. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, California-based Humane Farming Association (HFA) and Illinois-based Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) filed suit in Boone County Circuit Court against the Boone County Board and the Boone County Building and Zoning Department, both governmental entities in Boone County, Illinois.
The lawsuit states that the Boone County Building and Zoning Department is violating its own zoning ordinance by repeatedly issuing temporary use permits for Mexican-style rodeos, called La Charreada, where horses are subjected to routine beatings by rodeo participants and steers suffer such severe abuse that they break their legs, horns, and backs, and have their tails ripped off. Having formally opposed and then appealed the issuance of use permits, the plaintiffs are now filing suit against the County, seeking injunctive relief.
The County's zoning ordinance, which sets forth minimum requirements for rodeos, prohibits acts of animal cruelty. County zoning officers are required to deny permits if rodeos cause harm to animals or violate state animal cruelty laws. In addition, zoning officers can deny permits where "the applicant has a demonstrated and documented failure to comply with the regulations of a similar previously granted temporary use."
In a particularly brutal event called "tailing," riders beat their horses with whips and fists and use sharp spurs to force their horses close to terrified steers so that riders can reach for and forcibly grab onto the steer's tail. The rider then wraps the tail around his leg and rides off to the side. This results in the steer being violently slammed to the ground. The rider gains maximum points when the steer falls onto his right side and twirls onto his back.
In some cases the steer's tail is ripped off, a process called "degloving." Video evidence shows some competitors wave the tail remnants in the air as a sign of victory.
"It's deeply troubling that these negligent county agencies are permitting this blatant animal cruelty in clear violation of their own ethical and legal obligations," said HFA National Director Bradley Miller.
For over a year, plaintiffs have used drones and other methods to document not only horrendous abuse during tailing, but also the failure of rodeo personnel to "provide veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering," as state law requires. Steers have languished for hours before being loaded into tractor buckets and taken off site to be shot.
La Charreada is particularly cruel in that steers are used repeatedly, with individual animals being run in tailing events as many as 20 times. Electric prods are used extensively at these Boone County Mexican-style rodeos, despite the fact that the rules of the Mexican Federation of Charreria prohibit the use of electric prods in chutes. Those rules also forbid the running of injured animals and require a licensed veterinarian to be available to tend to animals who are hurt.
"It's outrageous that Illinois, which has one of the best humane laws in the nation, in fact allows such egregious animal cruelty," said SHARK president Steve Hindi.
Because plaintiffs HFA and SHARK charge that the County is violating its own zoning ordinance, they are asking the court to compel County officials to deny permits to these events when they are presented with evidence of animal harm and animal cruelty before or during the permit review process.
Video documentation available upon request.
About HFA
The Humane Farming Association (HFA) is dedicated to the protection of farm animals and operates the nation's largest farm-animal sanctuary. Founded in 1985 and over 290,000 members strong, HFA is nationally recognized for its groundbreaking anti-cruelty campaigns.
About SHARK
Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) is an animal protection organization that works internationally and specializes in high-tech investigations exposing cruelty to a wide variety of animals.
Related Links
https://www.hfa.org
https://www.sharkonline.org/
Contact:
Steve Hindi, Showing Animals Respect and Kindness
[email protected]
SOURCE Humane Farming Association
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