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SHARK Calls On Coca-Cola to Withdraw Sponsorship of Cruel Rodeo After Horse is Killed, and to Reveal the Fate of Numerous other Animals Injured at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo
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Animal Protection Group Calls On Coca-Cola to Withdraw Sponsorship of Cruel Rodeo
Second Horse in Two Days is Injured at Cheyenne Rodeo (a Horse Was Killed on Sunday)
Watch the video of "Wobble Water" here
Watch the video of "Check Mate's" here
SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) is currently on the ground at the cruel Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) in Cheyenne, Wyoming. SHARK has video-documented horrific animal cruelty at CFD for many years, including animals who have suffered severe injuries and even death. In the first seven days of the two-week rodeo, SHARK has videotaped numerous animals that were so severely injured that they had to be carted out of the arena, as well as the tragic and completely avoidable death of a four-year-old horse named Check Mate on Sunday.
Yesterday, Monday the 26th, the day after Check Mate's death, another horse, Wobble Water, during another round of the "rookie saddle bronc" event was badly injured. She appears to have suffered a similar injury to that of Check Mate, as her back and rear legs gave out and she hit the ground. It also appears as if her leg was damaged.
"Two years ago, a horse named Strawberry Fudge was killed and Cajun Katy was badly injured, taken away and never heard from again," states SHARK President Steve Hindi. "We fear that the CFD, after receiving bad press for having killed Check Mate, will try to hide this horse's fate. That's why we want Coca-Cola, as a major sponsor of the CFD, to not only withdraw from the rodeo, but to reveal to the public the fate of Wobble Water and all of the other injured animals." Coca-Cola is a "Gold Boot" sponsor of the CFD see: http://www.cfdrodeo.com/ at the bottom of the page.
Coca-Cola has an animal welfare statement on their website that says: "Coca-Cola cares about the welfare of animals and supports their proper treatment. That is why the Company and our U.S. bottling partners will not sponsor events or attractions that feature animals unless the event organizers have policies and procedures in place to support the humane treatment of animals and provide ready access to quality veterinary care to protect the animals' health and safety."
SHARK President Steve Hindi, who is at CFD, said the following: "Coke's statement is an assurance to the public that any rodeo they sponsor will be "humane," yet clearly there are great and horrific acts of violence being committed against animals at the CFD. By sponsoring the rodeo, Coca-Cola is in effect sponsoring animal cruelty, including the death of an innocent horse named Check Mate."
To date, there have also been four steers and four calves that have been hauled out of the arena due to their serious injuries, and numerous other animals that have been injured as well. To view all of the injuries that have occurred at the CFD Please visit this page: http://www.youtube.com/sharkonlineorg#p/u
The following is the letter SHARK has sent today to Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola and the Coca-Cola Board of Directors.
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Muhtar Kent
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
The Coca-Cola Company
Dear Mr. Kent,
My organization, SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) is right now on the ground at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) in Cheyenne Wyoming. SHARK has video-documented horrific animal cruelty at CFD for many years, including animals who have suffered severe injuries and even death.
Coca-Cola is a long time sponsor and supporter of the CFD. On your website, it states the following regarding your company's sponsorship of rodeos: "Coca-Cola cares about the welfare of animals and supports their proper treatment. That is why the Company and our U.S. bottling partners will not sponsor events or attractions that feature animals unless the event organizers have policies and procedures in place to support the humane treatment of animals and provide ready access to quality veterinary care to protect the animals' health and safety."
From the first day of the rodeo, July 20, to today, July 26, we have video-documented numerous animals with visible injuries and even more who were so badly injured that they had to be carted out of the arena to a fate unknown. This includes the death last Sunday night of a beautiful young horse named Check Mate, and a horse named Wobble Water on Monday, who suffered a hauntingly similar injury as Check Mate had.
In this picture of Check Mate as she fell, you can see a man holding a cup of Coca-Cola. It is fitting, therefore, that your company's name and logo are now associated with this poor animal's death; by sponsoring the CFD, Coca-Cola must assume responsibility for the acts of cruelty and suffering that happen at this brutal rodeo.
Based on this tragic and completely avoidable death, we call on Coca-Cola to not only immediately withdraw its sponsorship of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, but to release to the public information on what has happened to all the other innocent animal victims of CFD cruelty. Did they receive medical care, as you claimed they would? Or were they slaughtered out of hand because it was not worth the time or effort to treat them? We don't know - the CFD is notorious for hiding what happens to injured animals - but as a sponsor you should.
Here is a link to the videos documenting all of the injured animals so you can see how they were roped, beaten and broken by the very rodeo your company is sponsoring.
I am sorry to say there will be more as the rodeo continues. We want Coca-Cola out of the animal cruelty industry, and we want answers to what happened to all these innocent victims.
Sincerely,
Steve Hindi
President,
SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness
P.S. The following two pictures are of a young calf who was so badly injured that she had to be carted out of the arena. On her way out, she was driven past one of your trucks displaying a large logo. Is this the Coke brand of cruelty?
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Please write to Coca-Cola and politely ask that they withdraw from the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. Also ask that they find out what happened to all of the animals that were injured.
The following emails are all associated with the leadership of Coca-Cola. You can copy and paste them all in one email:
mukent@na.ko.com, mkent@eur.ko.com, ijones@na.ko.com, kbjorhus@na.ko.com, coca-cola@computershare.com, acummings@eur.ko.com, ctuggle@na.ko.com, rcrockett@na.ko.com, gfayard@na.ko.com, kiwitt@na.ko.com, ceberly@na.ko.com, wendyclark@na.ko.com,jtripodi@na.ko.com, cocacolasupport@na.ko.com Please feel free to include any or all of the following illustrations with your email, to show Coke what their brand really means to you. Both animals were from this year at CFD.
COKE'S BRAND OF CRUELTY 
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The Local Wyoming Media: the Public Relations Division of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo
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Last year, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle published a story today titled "CFD officials: Animals get utmost care," which went on to whitewash the utter cruelty of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo and paint a picture of "pampered" animals and good family values and fun.
"Animals get utmost care?" Really? A half-dozen plus serious injuries in the last six days and another horse dead - and that doesn't include the long and tragic list of victims from last year, including a dead bull. With that kind of care who needs enemies?
While the white-wash article was huge - 1,075 words (with a picture), the story on Check Mate was a mere 195 words. That's not journalism - that's an act of a public relations firm.
Here is the link to the Check Mate story if you want to post a comment. You'll probably wind up giving it more attention that then "newspaper" that published the story.
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Kindest Regards,
Steve Hindi and Your SHARK Team
"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
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