Rodeo is a sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the

United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros
and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico. Today it
is a sporting event that consists of events that involve horses and other livestock. Professional rodeos generally
comprises the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback
bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing.

In North America, professional rodeos are governed and sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys
Association (PRCA) and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), while other associations govern
children's, high school, collegiate, and senior rodeos. Associations also exist for Native Americans and other
minority groups. The traditional season for competitive rodeo runs from spring through fall. The traditional
peak time for the largest number of rodeos is the July 4th weekend. The modern professional rodeo circuit runs
longer, and concludes with the PRCA National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada, now held in December.

Rodeo has provoked opposition from animal rights and animal welfare advocates, who argue that various
competitions constitute animal cruelty. The American rodeo industry has made progress in improving the
welfare of rodeo animals, with specific requirements for veterinary care and other regulations that protect
rodeo animals. However rodeo is opposed by a number of animal welfare organizations in the United States and
Canada. Some local and state governments in North America have banned or restricted rodeos, certain rodeo
events, or types of equipment. Internationally, rodeo is banned in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
With other European nations placing restrictions on certain practices.

Charges that rodeos are cruel to the animals involved are not new, and some practices justly warranted
scrutiny. Protests were first raised regarding rodeo animal cruelty in the 1870s, and, beginning in the 1930s,
some states enacted laws curtailing rodeo activities and other events involving animals. In the 1950s, the then
Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA, later the PRCA) worked with the American Humane Association (AHA) to
establish regulations protecting the welfare of rodeo animals that were acceptable to both organizations. The
PRCA realized that public education regarding rodeo and the welfare of animals was needed to keep the sport
alive.

Over the years, conditions for animals in rodeo and many other sporting events improved. Today, the PRCA and
other rodeo sanctioning organizations have stringent regulations to ensure rodeo animals' welfare. For example,
these rules require, among other things, provisions for injured animals, a veterinarian's presence at all rodeos
(a similar requirement exists for other equine events), padded flank straps, horn protection for steers, and
spurs with dulled, free-spinning rowels. Rodeo competitors in general value and provide excellent care to the
animals with which they work. Animals must also be protected with fleece-lined flank straps for bucking stock
and horn wraps for roping steers.

Laws governing rodeo vary widely. In the American west, some states incorporate the regulations of the PRCA
into their statutes as a standard by which to evaluate if animal cruelty has occurred. On the other hand, some
events and practices are restricted or banned in other states, including California, Rhode Island, and Ohio. St.
Petersburg, Florida is the only locality in the United States with a complete ban on rodeo. Canadian Humane
Societies are careful in criticizing Canadian rodeo as the event as become so indigenous to Western Canada that
criticism may jeopardize support for the organization's other humane goals. The Calgary Humane Society itself
is wary of criticizing the famous Calgary Stampede. Internationally, Rodeo itself is banned in the United
Kingdom and the Netherlands with other European nations placing restrictions on certain practices.

However, a number of humane and animal rights organizations have policy statements that oppose many rodeo
practices, and often the events themselves. Some also claim that regulations vary from vague to ineffective,
and are frequently violated.

In response to these concerns, a number of cities and states, mostly in the eastern half of the United States,
have passed ordinances and laws governing rodeo. Pittsburgh, for example, specifically prohibits electric prods
or shocking devices, flank or bucking straps, wire tie-downs, and sharpened or fixed spurs or rowels. Pittsburgh
also requires humane officers be provided access to any and all areas where animals may go—specifically pens,
chutes, and injury pens. The state of Rhode Island has banned tie-down roping and certain other practices.
Other locales have similar ordinances and laws.

There are three basic areas of concern to various groups. The first set of concerns surround relatively common
rodeo practices, such as the use of bucking straps, also known as flank straps, the use of metal or electric
cattle prods, and tail-twisting. The second set of concerns surround non-traditional rodeo events that operate
outside the rules of sanctioning organizations. These are usually amateur events such as mutton busting, calf
dressing, wild cow milking, calf riding, chuck wagon races, and other events designed primarily for publicity,
half-time entertainment or crowd participation. Finally, some groups consider some or all rodeo events
themselves to be cruel.

Groups such as PETA, SHARK, and the Humane Society of the United States generally take a position of
opposition to all rodeos and rodeo events. A more general position is taken by the ASPCA, only opposing rodeo
events that "involve cruel, painful, stressful and potentially harmful treatment of livestock, not only in
performance but also in handling, transport and prodding to perform." The group singles out children’s rodeo
events such as goat tying, calf riding and sheep riding (“mutton busting”), "which do not promote humane care
and respect for animals."

The American Humane Association (AHA) does not appear to oppose rodeos per se, though they have a general
position on events and contests involving animals, stating that "when animals are involved in entertainment,
they must be treated humanely at all times." The AHA also has strict requirements for the treatment of animals
used for rodeo scenes in movies, starting with the rules of the PRCA and adding additional requirements
consistent with the association's other policies.

Unique among animal protection groups, the ASPCA specifically notes that practice sessions are often the
location of more severe abuses than competitions. However, many state animal cruelty laws provide specific
exemptions for "training practices." The American Humane Association is the only organization addressing the
legislative issue, advocating the strengthening of animal cruelty laws in general, with no exceptions for "training
practices."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeos