Click HERE for the Facebook Moment of Silence Event
Although the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) doesn't officially open until this weekend, they hold pre-qualifying events in the days before called "slack." These events are notoriously cruel and yesterday, Wednesday July 20th, the first day of slack, a young, innocent calf was injured badly enough during a calf roping "jerk down" that she had to be carted out of the arena. Rodeo propaganda claims that cruel "jerk downs" aren't allowed, yet they occur openly and routinely at the CFD.
The face of the injured calf. SHARK will be holding a moment of silence for her when Sheryl Crow begins her performance at the CFD
"The CFD's supposed humane rules are a joke," states SHARK President Steve Hindi. "They don't practice animal welfare, just animal cruelty. This calf was tortured for entertainment."
Nearly 13,000 (and counting) people from around the world sign a petition calling out Sheryl Crow for supporting rodeo cruelty
SHARK was appalled when it was announced that Sheryl Crow, who has professed to care about animals, was going to perform this Friday at the official opening night of the CFD. After receiving tremendous pressure from the public, including a protest at her book signing event in Utah, Ms. Crow tried to spin her way out by donating a part of her proceeds to an organization that helps wild horses. SHARK called out Ms. Crow for her hypocrisy in an Associated Press story that was covered nationwide and internationally.
This led to the creation of an online petition asking Ms. Crow to speak out against rodeo cruelty that has already garnered nearly 13,000 signatures.
Now, in memory of the CFD's first victim, we are calling for a moment of silence when Sheryl Crow begins her performance in memory of the fallen calf. This will be organized as a Facebook event (click here for the page link). The moment of silence will take place at 8:00 PM MDT, 10:00 PM EDT.
"Sheryl Crow has one last chance to redeem herself in some small way," states Steve Hindi. "We are asking her to join in this moment of silence at the beginning of her performance and recognize the cruelty that her name has helped support and promote."
Animals used in rodeos aren't "athletes" or "performers." They are all simply victims.
The moment of silence will be in memory for this calf.
"Kindness and compassion towards all living beings is a mark of a civilized society. Racism, economic deprival, dog fighting and cock fighting, bullfighting and rodeos are all cut from the same fabric: violence. Only when we have become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves." - Cesar Chavez, civil rights and labor leader, founder of the United Farm Workers
