It all started off this year with a personal welcome from the FBI and Illinois State Police--although the scenario had more of the makings of a stakeout for Steve Hindi than a warm ‘howdy-do.”

Steve was told that the police had “intel” that someone was going to release the rodeo animals. He was extensively questioned regarding SHARK’s purposes and procedures of recording at the NHSRF. This completely ridiculous insinuation and attempt at intimidation was fully discussed at the following day's press conference. See video news coverage and read more about this ignorant waste of public safety resources here. At this time an attorney for SHARK is in contact with the authorities to urge full disclosure of the allegations and an internal investigtion.

A frantic horse tries to escape certain torment in the chute.

For the first two days of the Finals, SHARK investigators saw calves and steers injured, horses shocked and hit in the face, bulls jabbed with pens in the chutes, countless foul-ropings, and a litany of other abuses.

We have been doing our best to post updates, video clips, and photos about the abuse and violations occurring at the NHSRF on IllinoisCorruption.com. Because of the massive amount of documentation that is being gathered, in the coming days and weeks much, much more will be added.

Months before the NHSRF began, SHARK’s 22 Concerns regarding animal protection at rodeos in Illinois were discussed with and sent to the Ag. Department. These issues have been posted on our website, along with important notations as to how these concerns are consistently being trampled as the Finals progress.

A foul-roped calf is face-slammed into the dirt.

At the end of each day, Steve has sent a report to Dr. O’Keefe, the person in charge of head of Animal Protection at the Ag. Department, detailing the offenses by rodeo contestants and organizers. The Department’s response has been to do absolutely nothing and deny any abuse by the rodeo people. (Read Dr. O’Keefe’s responses to SHARK reports here.)

SHARK has previously been assured that there would be 24/7 monitoring of the rodeo by the Ag Department and any violations of the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act would be dealt with immediately. We won’t stoop to disparaging monkeys for a comparison, but this is clearly an instance of “see no evil, hear no evil.”

Cosy corruption doesn’t get much more blatant than listening to Chuck Hartke, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, bantering with the rodeo folks in the announcers booth at the NHSRF. Over the loudspeakers Director Hartke oozed on about his love and admiration for rodeo. “Conflict of Interest” for the protection of animals doesn’t begin to cover it.

Clearly the state officials under Governor Blagojevich have no intent of doing their job either for the animals or the people they are supposed to protect. During the second evening’s performance, Steve was approached and harrassed by a man with the rodeo. The Rodeo Thug was insistent that Steve must have a “press pass” to continue videoing the performance.

Since SHARK had explicitly cleared our right to document the NHSRF with authorities long before the event started, Steve was rightly firm about continuing to film. The harrassment escalated to the point of Steve being shoved in the shoulder.

Since Steve was directly told by Captain Wolf of the Illinois State Police to call a particular phone number should we experience any harrassment, that is exactly what he did. The report was made and Steve was assured that the police would arrive promptly. The Rodeo Thug departed and was not seen again. Two hours went by and the police never showed up. Read the letter Steve sent to the Director of the State Police regarding these appalling matters.

Sparse attendance is obvious in this photo from the rodeo that the Governor spent $55,000 of taxpayers dollars on to "enrich the state."

Please continue contacting Governor Blagojevich! The Governor’s failure to respond thus far to any of the letters on this subject is telling. We must make this issue so loud that he will not be able to not respond.

Urge him to make a formal investigation regarding his State Police’s conduct. Inquire as to why the officials in his Department of Agriculture are more concerned with schmoozing with rodeo folks than with enforcing the Humane Care Act. Remind him that Illinois taxpayers do not look favorably upon state-subsidized cruelty.

Please write to:

The Honorable Rod Blagojevich
Governor of Illinois
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone 217-782-0244
Fax 217-524-4049

EMAIL the Governor.

The Springfield Journal-Register, the area’s dominant newspaper and NHSRF sponsor, has completely failed to offer balanced reporting on the rodeo. The Journal-Register didn’t deem it relevant to cover SHARK’s press conference regarding blatant abuse at the rodeo, lack of humane enforcement, corrupt and wasteful government, or the issue of FBI and State Police insinuations about SHARK’s presence.

Please write Letters to the Editor at the Journal- Register expressing your displeasure with their brand of journalism and the paper’s sponsorship of an abusive industry. Urge readers to go to llinoisCorruption.com to find out more about the Governor’s subsidizing of rodeo animal cruelty.

Click here to email your letter.

or Write:

The State Journal-Register
One Copley Plaza
P.O. Box 219
Springfield, IL, 62705-0219,
Fax: (217) 788-1551

SHARK is committed to this campaign to expose the dirty relationship between the Illinois government and the rodeo industry. The failure to enforce the Humane Care Act for rodeo animals must not be tolerated by Illinois citizens. Please check back often to IllinoisCorruption.com for continuous updates of our video and photo evidence.

Carrie Underwood has canceled her peformance at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo!

A proud vegetarian, Carrie Underwood, American Idol winner, wore a "V Is for Vegetarian" T-shirt on during a performance on the show. Carrie was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" in 2005, and has stated that she had decided she'd rather sing to cows than eat them while growing up on a farm in Oklahoma.

In an interview with Reader's Digest, Carrie previously said,

"I don't think enough people stand up for animals. My heart goes out to them because, to me, every single animal has a heart and a mind and a soul."

As we told you in our last update, SHARK was surprised and appalled when it was discovered that Carrie was scheduled to perform at the infamously abusive Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Compassionate fans of Carrie believed she was lending her support to the Cheyenne Rodeo because she simply didn't realize the cruel reality of this industry. SHARK immediately made every effort to contact Ms. Underwood and sent her video of the all-too-common rodeo horrors. We created a website urging Carrie to stop her support of the rodeo industry. Fans wrote pleas for the animals in rodeos to Carrie. Soon thereafter, a press release from the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo stated:

"American Idol Star Josh Gracin will take the stage with Phil Vassar replacing Carrie Underwood who is unable to perform at Cheyenne Frontier Days for personal reasons."

Every one of Carrie's fans can continue to be proud of her spirit, strength, and compassion! Unlike Hilary Duff, Carrie Underwood has chosen to do what's right by pulling her support away from people who profit by abusing animals.

Please thank Carrie for standing by the animals instead of the abusers! Encourage her to go one step further and contact SHARK to sign the Compassionate Performer Pledge.

Send Thank You's To:

Ms. Carrie Underwood
P. O. Box 10
Checotah, OK 74426

Investigations such as the one currently underway at the National High School Rodeo Finals, require significant resources. Your donations are always needed and appreciated to continue our work in defence of animals. Just as important as our documentation, is SHARK's method for raising awareness about animal abuse: The Tiger Truck. SHARK needs your donations to pay for work needed on the Tiger, so it can continue to be a successful revolutionary tool for the animals.

Simply make a donation via PayPal on the SHARK website or use this form.
Thank You for all your support!

Kindest Regards,
Steve Hindi and your SHARK Team