inhumane fear and pain in a modern 'city with a heart'
Author:
Debra Probert
Publication:
Vancouver Sun
Publication Date:
May 16, 2006
Vancouver city council voted in principle to ban rodeo activities within the city last year. Today, council will decide whether to ratify that decision.
The same week, in the city of Surrey, the 60th Cloverdale Rodeo will open with great fanfare. While one city is moving to eliminate the use of animals in an inhumane spectacle, another will be celebrating it.
Of course, rodeo fans will say that roping calves and wrestling steers to the ground are part of Surrey's heritage and culture, while Vancouver has only witnessed an occasional rodeo at the Pacific National Exhibition.
But do Surrey residents really want rodeo to be the defining cultural event of their city? Surrey is growing and urbanizing rapidly, with the population projected to jump from about 400,000 now to 542,000 in 2021. With so many new citizens and with ethnic minorities already making up over a third of the city's population, how reflective will rodeo be of the community's culture and values in 2021?
Even now, it appears the public is losing interest. Last year, 16,000 people attended the rodeo, down from 19,500 the year before – an 18-per-cent drop.
Surrey's official community plan lists a goal to "enhance the image and character" of the city, as part of its vision to become "a great city with a heart." It's a vision that doesn't fit with the violence and cruelty involved in rodeo. The use of cinch straps to make animals buck; the goading of animals to make them run from their chutes; the neck-jerking roping of calves running at full speed -- all methods employing fear and pain to make animals perform.
In 2004, a cowboy broke a steer's neck while wrestling it to the ground. It had to be destroyed, one of the 20 animals killed in rodeos across Canada since 1995.
These deaths and injuries are horrific but the fear that rodeo animals experience is perhaps the cruellest aspect of their mistreatment. The distinguished animal behaviourist, Temple Grandin, has argued that fear is "so bad" for animals that it is worse than pain. And she is no bleeding heart – she designs slaughterhouses for the beef industry.
The moderate, mainstream B.C. SPCA called for the public to boycott the Cloverdale Rodeo last year. Think about it. The agency with statutory responsibility for protecting animals in this province thinks rodeo is wrong and is telling the public not to attend. Every single animal welfare agency in Canada opposes rodeo. Yet every year Surrey plays host to the same grim spectacle in the name of heritage. Is this what a city with a heart wants to be known for?
In December 2007, Surrey's contract with the current operators of the Cloverdale Fairground expires and a major redevelopment of the fairground is to follow.
The city has asked for public opinion on the plans. This would be the perfect opportunity to phase out the rodeo and introduce new cultural events. The popular country fair could be retained, perhaps with the addition of a country music festival similar to the highly successful Merritt Mountain Music Festival.
Surrey's history and heritage could still be celebrated, while new ideas reflecting the city's vision for the future, could be explored. All without the use and abuse of animals.
With a little courage and some foresight, the council could take a first step toward building a new image for the city -- one that respects the past but values compassion more. That's what great cities should do.
In London, one of the last bear-baiting pits, situated a few paces from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, was closed down in 1642. While the Globe has been rebuilt, nothing remains of the bear pit.
There are some parts of our heritage we should retain and be proud of and there are others we should consign to the dustbin of history. That's where the Cloverdale Rodeo belongs.
Debra Probert is the executive director of the Vancouver Humane Society.
