Public attitudes towards the treatment of animals have evolved a long way over the years.
From massive industrial agricultural operations wherein animals like chickens endure horrific conditions tantamount to torture, to spectator events such as the gory, blood-letting Spanish bullfights, more and more people seem to be ó rightfully so ó demanding humane treatment.
Of course rodeos are not immune to being subject to such public scrutiny and criticism. Every time livestock is harmed ó or worse, killed ó as a result of an accident, there are those who protest and demand an end to the sport. There even sometimes seems to be an assumption that rodeo organizers and athletes could not care any less about the livestock.
But while undoubtedly a spectator sport that provides entertainment, rodeo is not about causing intentional cruelty. And when any livestock dies during a rodeo event following a tragic mishap, the occurrence generally hits hard everyone involved in raising the animal.
"They're cared for better than most people's domestic livestock are ó the treatment is second to none," said Sundre Pro Rodeo organizer Shane Crouch during a recent interview with the Round Up regarding this weekend's upcoming event.
Well aware of the people who express concerns regarding the treatment of animals during a rodeo, Crouch underscored the fact cowboys, trainers and owners invest plenty of time and energy to ensure all of the livestock is well looked after.
Sounds like a rather far cry from the likes of Spanish bullfighting, where the sole objective is to literally slowly but surely kill a bull by stabbing the animal repeatedly until it basically bleeds out and is finished off in a disturbing display of cruelty.
In other words, intent is undeniably a major factor.
There is all the difference in the world between a sport that purposely seeks to put down a live creature to the sounds of people cheering, compared with a sport that seeks to breed the best livestock possible in events that test their strength and endurance as people cheer on.
In a nutshell, chances are a bull waiting to face off against a matador's lethal swords would without hesitation happily switch places with a bull waiting to buck a cowboy off of his back.
There are even some people in Spain who are ready to relegate the traditional yet controversial bullfights to the history books who seem more open to the possibility of rodeos as an alternative.
A 2009 NPR article, called From Bullfighting to Rodeos: Culture Shock in Spain, quoted a then 10-year-old by the name of Alba Perez, who said she loved watching rodeo animals perform in a variety of events.
"And they don't kill the bull!" she said.
