Now, however, rodeo thugs have gotten a very bitter dose of reality thrown at them from none other than the prestigious Gallup polling company. The December 11-14, 2006 poll asked Americans to identify, without prompting, their “favorite sport to watch.” The results show in painful detail just how insignificant rodeos (deservedly) are. The majority of respondents of the poll, released January 19, 2007, chose the obvious legitimate sports that you would expect: football (43%), basketball (12%) and baseball (11%). Then respondents chose auto racing (4%), golf (3%), ice/figure skating (3%), soccer (2%), ice hockey (2%), boxing (2%), tennis (1%) and gymnastics (1%). Three percent of respondents chose “other” as their favorite sport, and twelve percent said they had no favorite sport. See the Gallup poll here.

So where did rodeo rank among these most popular sports? It didn’t! Imagine that – the rodeo people have been lying about their status as a supposed sport! Who woulda guessed? But wait, cause this expose’ still gets better. Gallup also broke their responses down by age, gender and geographic regions of the US, so in effect, rodeo has multiple opportunities to show strength in at least a small portion of the sports market. For instance, if we were to believe even a tiny bit of rodeo propaganda, we would find rodeos to be a significant activity in the west, right? But, no! It didn’t show up. Perhaps since rodeos are a predominantly a man’s sport, it’ll show up in the gender breakdown, right? Wrong again! How about in the age breakdown, since rodeo is for the young, right? No! How about older sports fans? Forget about it! There was no mention of rodeo.

The poll also included some historical information about the popularity of sporting events from 1994 to 2006. In four of those years rodeo managed to scrape up a one percent rating, but for 2006 rodeo noticeably declined, not even able to make it up to 0.5%. The closest activity rodeo could be compared to in popularity was volleyball – that’s right – volleyball! But at least volleyball is a real sport.

Finally, Gallup included information of the long-term trend of sports popularity, starting way back in 1937, up to 2006. Once again, rodeo was a no-show.

The real beauty of this poll is that it didn’t exclude rodeo, even though rodeo can’t be considered a legitimate sport. Rodeo had a shot to prove itself, and as usual, the rodeo mafia was proven to be lying.

Gallup's results show why rodeo is barely hanging on to its existence. Plagued by constant exposure from animal advocacy groups like SHARK, attendance is faltering and sponsors (Campbell Soup’s Pace Foods, Starbucks, and others) are pulling out, the rodeo industry's in trouble and they know it. The head of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is under investigation by the FBI, and attendance remains dismal at many rodeos and at the PRCA’s “Hall of Fame” at its Colorado Springs, Colorado headquarters.

In the past year hard-hitting journalists have shown the public the pervasive abuse and corruption at major rodeo events in Wyoming and Illinois . Finally, the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA), the world’s second largest rodeo association, barely escaped going out of existence recently, and was bought for a song by some former, apparently disgruntled PRCA folks. That simply means that the zombies are going to try to resuscitate the dead.

The following is an excerpt from the article posted on RodeoAttitude.com, a pro-rodeo web site. When even the rodeo fanatics make this kind of admission, you know things are really bad:

“Recently rumors had spread throughout the rodeo industry that the IPRA, which began in 1957 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, was in financial trouble and on the verge of dissolving.”

But there’s even more information pointing to the problems faced by rodeo thugs, and it is to be found within the files of none other than the rodeo mafia itself, on the web site of the Reno rodeo. It’s a list of PRCA statistics from 1953 to 2004, over a half-century of information. As we said earlier, when even the rodeo people acknowledge this, it is a serious matter.

According to the PRCA’s own information, in 1953 there were 578 PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, while the number in 2004 was 671, or an increase of sixteen percent. Comparatively, the American population rose from 160,184,000 in 1953, to 293,027,571 in 2004. That’s a jump of more than 83 percent. (US Census Bureau international Database, www.census.gov) Obviously rodeos are not keeping up with the population of the US – a clear indication that rodeo popularity is dropping. So rodeo, a fringe activity at best in the beginning, is steadily losing any place in American society, and is basically considered to be even less legitimate than professional wrestling.

Here’s the truly appalling portion of the story. Although rodeo is a joke when it comes to public interest, rodeo prize money has skyrocketed from $2,492,856 to a whopping $35,532,631, or more than a fourteen-fold increase! If we have to give kudos to one part of the rodeo mafia, it’s the marketing department – for they are hands down the best snake oil salespeople in the world! They’re selling multinational corporations a bill of goods that, were it not for the cruelty of rodeo, would be hilarious! This phenomenon is especially wacky given that some of the companies like Dodge Trucks and Ford Motor Company have enormous financial problems. Nevertheless, these struggling companies are pouring millions of dollars into the rodeo mafia even as they are laying off their workers and posting record losses.

As you can see there is both good and bad news in all of this. The good news is that this is a battle that can and must be won. The fact is that most Americans see rodeo for just what it is – a stupid activity, whose entertainment value is akin to watching Jello harden. We are still in the process of educating people as to the inherent cruelty of rodeos, and when we have achieved more success in that area, the demise of the rodeo mafia among thinking people will be assured.

That bad news is that there are still untold numbers of rodeos animals abused, maimed, and killed every year in rodeos, and this abuse is being funded by corporate sponsors like AT&T, Coca- Cola and Dodge Trucks. This demonstrates the importance that caring people NOT give these abusive and corrupt companies so much as a penny of your money. Every call you make via AT&T/Cingular/SBC is money going to the rodeo mafia. Every Coke product you purchase is money that will be used to abuse animals. Please remember that.

Hopefully the exposed lies of the rodeo mafia and your consumer voice will help persuade the corporate morons who sponsor rodeos to stop propping up this excuse for entertainment.

Rodeo people know the only way to come out on top in a poll is to manipulate the numbers. They've done it before with call-in/vote online polls and phony attendance figures, and used their inflated numbers to court sponsors. A perfect example of this is a "behind-the-scenes" email sent out by Cindy Schonholtz, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's Animal Welfare Coordinator. In this email, sent out to Ms. Schonholtz's little circle of rodeo buds and string-pullers, she urges them to help out their "circus friends" and reminds them: “We have shown what we can do with a poll!" Here is Schonholtz’s email:

From: Cindy Schonholtz
Date: Monday, February 07, 2000 7:55 AM
Subject: [Fwd: Seattle poll about circus animals - PLEASE VOTE TODAY]

Ok folks, lets help out our circus friends with this poll. We have shown what we can do with a poll!
PLEASE take a minute today and vote against the ban on circus animals.

Some of you may wonder why the rodeo mafia would care about a poll about circuses. The answer is simply that rodeo people will fight ANY effort to help animals. You see, if the public starts caring about the plight of elephants or any other circus animals, the next concern might be for the treatment of rodeo animals. For that reason the rodeo mafia has worked to keep cockfighting legal, supports bullfighting, is connected to suicide horse races, incredibly cruel and deadly “wild horse (the victims aren’t really wild) races” and of course, horse slaughter.

The rodeo mafia is anti-animal, period, and Ms. Schonholtz has been kind enough to demonstrate that attitude with her encouragement that people load up a poll meant to take society’s pulse. Schonholtz takes apparent pride at a perceived ability to manipulate public opinion from the seclusion of a dark office. Too bad she doesn’t have the guts to come out and publicly debate.

It must be noted that Cindy Schonholtz’s position as “humane coordinator” is as big a joke as she is. The “humane coordinator” title is an indication of the utter and absolute lack of any integrity or credibility in the PRCA or any other rodeo association. Schonholtz actually works to smooth over negative publicity when SHARK and other animal protection organizations document and expose her employer’s abuses. She’s a third-rate spin doctor whose more accurate job title would be "Coordinator for Anti-Humane Efforts."

Neither Schonholtz nor anyone else representing the PRCA or any other rodeo association has had the guts to debate for more than a decade, in spite of dozens of debate challenges from SHARK. When these clowns are abusing an animal they’re real tough guys. When they have to face their own kind however, in a real test of truth and character, they run like the scared little sissies they truly are.

Speaking of rodeo folks running from debate challenges, SHARK president Steve Hindi recently extended such an invitation to Ralph Clark, a rodeo supporter and manager of a web site called rodeo.about.com. Clark has been a bit player on the rodeo scene for some time, but he came to our attention after we learned that Clark had called Steve a name on his site that was libelous, and so disgusting we don’t even want to repeat it. Steve sent Ralph an email warning legal action if it were not changed. Ralph changed it.

Then Ralph, apparently feeling stung because he couldn’t continue to libel Steve, requested information about SHARK’s footage, as well as information about our expenditures. SHARK staff immediately pointed Ralph to the TheCruelTruth.co m where he could find answers to many of his questions regarding our footage. Ralph was also told that not only would he get our expenditure information, but that it would be posted on our website after we compiled it. Why not? Unlike the rodeo mafia, we have nothing to hide.

It was at this point that Steve invited Ralph Clark to debate. If Ralph thought our information would prove helpful to his cause, we would give him the ultimate opportunity to use it. Steve offered to debate Ralph in California (his location) or in Illinois (Steve’s location). There would be no time limit, even if there was more than one meeting, and the whole thing would be videotaped. Then each person in the debate would get a copy of the tape to use as each person choses. Not surprisingly, Ralph says he needs to get back to us on the challenge.

We won’t hold our breath.

Since SHARK's inception, only once has anyone from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), the world's largest rodeo association, agreed to a public debate with SHARK's President, Steve Hindi--and that was nearly ten years ago for five minutes. (See that "debate" here.) Despite repeated and standing offers by SHARK to meet anywhere, anytime, no one from any rodeo association has had what it takes to walk all that tough talk, and candidly and openly discuss the issues of animals in rodeo.

SHARK's most recent offer went out to PRCA Commissioner Troy Ellerman. Similar debate challenges have gone out to the two previous commissioners of the PRCA--with no response. SHARK is giving the PRCA an opportunity to blunt the public relations damage our efforts, especially our video documentation, are causing to the rodeo industry. However, we are not holding our breath in expectation that Troy Ellerman, anyone at the PRCA, or anyone in the rodeo world will "Cowboy Up."

Read SHARK's debate challenge as sent to PRCA Commissioner Ellerman.

A last look from this horse in line at the slaughterhouse

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled unanimously that horse slaughter plants operating in Texas can now face criminal charges if they slaughter horses for human consumption overseas, upholding a 1949 Texas law. The Texas horse slaughter plants are planning to appeal, but if they are unsuccessful, elimination of horse slaughter in Texas will leave one only horse meat plant in operation in the US, Cavel International Inc., in DeKalb, Illinois. Cavel is a disgusting horse-killing factory that hasn't met sanitary regulations since it's opening in 2004, and owes over $25,000 in fines.

According to USDA records, more than 100,000 horses were slaughtered for their meat in all three plants in 2006.

A federal mandate is the only way to assure the end of horse slaughter in the United States. To that end, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was reintroduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives, as HR 503, and Senate, as S 311, on January 17, 2007. The purpose of the bill is "to amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes," thus effectively banning horse slaughter in the U.S.
To learn more about this important measure and what you can do to help end this cruel industry, go to HorseKillers.com. .

In our last update we told you about the abuse endured by a particular horse at a rodeo at the Illinois State Fair last August. The rodeo was filmed by SHARK investigator Michael Kobliska. We now have an update on that case.

Toward the end of 2006, SHARK president Steve Hindi became an Illinois Approved Humane Investigator. That means that he has credentials from the state of Illinois to investigate possible violations of the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act on a voluntary basis. He is not an employee of the state.

Mike’s documentation included an incident wherein a horse had his face slammed into the front of a bucking chute as rodeo thugs attempted to force him to get after he had gone down to escape the torment he was receiving. The horse’s behavior indicates apparent trauma to the horse’s mouth. The video of this brutal incident can be seen by clicking here.

The face bashing is an obvious violation of state law, but Steve wanted to know if the horse was seen by a veterinarian, since state law requires that owned animals receive veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering. Steve called Josh Jordan, a partner of Johnson & Jordan Rodeo Company with one simple request – for the identity of the onsite veterinarian that is required to be at all PRCA rodeos. Interestingly, Jordan didn’t seem to have that information, but he promised to get it, and Steve gave Josh Jordan his phone number.

Two weeks went by before Steve called back to ask again for the information, and the rodeo runaround began. Jordan said that Steve would have to call the PRCA for the info. So Steve did, and the PRCA refused to give any info. Steve faxed a letter to both Jordan and the PRCA , and still the vet’s identity has not materialized. The reason for this appears clear – there was no vet. Forget the highly touted rules requiring an onsite vet, because like all PRCA humane rules, they are for public relations purposes only.

One other myth was buried as well. Rodeo thugs claim that abused animals won’t “perform.” Nonsense. The abusive rider of the thoroughly abused horse that had his face slammed into the chute and his mouth injured received the winning score for the bucking event. Another rodeo lie exposed.

Steve has turned video footage of the incident over to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and will continue to push for criminal charges against those involved. By the way, Johnson and Jordan is the same stock contractor who we documented abusing so many animals during the National High School Rodeo finals in July.

In 1995, SHARK set up surveillance cameras on the property of the Lone Pine Sportmens club in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania in advance of a live turkey shoot. This was a canned hunt in which de-beaked, de-toed, factory farmed turkeys had their legs put in stocks before they were placed on top of tires. The hapless victims were then shot at by goons who paid five dollars for an opportunity to shoot totally helpless victims.

Click here to see SHARK's footage of a turkey shoot.

SHARK’s video made news not only in Pennsylvania, but in an episode of the nationally syndicated news serial Hard Copy, which also exposed PA pigeon shoots. The public outrage at this cowardly event caused the gun club to permanently swear off live animal shoots, but there were no criminal cruelty charges against shoot organizers. We are happy to announce that Pennsylvania is apparently making some progress in becoming a civilized society.

The story below reports another turkey shoot busted by humane officer and longtime animal protector Keith Mohler, working for New York-based Farm Sanctuary. Although animals have a very long way to go before they are given the respect they deserve, this story is a hopeful sign that things can and are moving in the right direction.

From the Lancaster New Era, a Pennsylvania newspaper:

Sportsmen to fight cruelty charges for turkey shoot
Local case gains worldwide attention.

A Lancaster County sportsmen's club charged with animal cruelty after a turkey shoot will fight the charges in court, a club official says.

Read entire article here

The news in the Cingular rodeo sponsorship issue is that AT&T has bought the company and the Cingular name is going to disappear over the next year or so. Unfortunately, the AT&T takeover is not going to end the rodeo sponsorship. SHARK staff has made numerous attempts to talk sense to AT&T public relations people and has gotten nowhere.

As a result, the Tiger will be making a trip to AT&T headquarters in San Antonio, Texas in the next couple of weeks to give AT&T employees an opportunity to see exactly what their company is supporting.

Go to CingularSponsorsCruelty.com for more information on this important campaign and what you can do.

Some people have expressed a belief that to fight the rodeo issue in Texas is futile, but we don’t buy that for a moment. In fact, the San Antonio Rodeo will be in town at the same time as the Tiger, but that isn’t the interesting thing. The San Antonio Rodeo, a cruelty extravaganza that runs over three weeks and is one of the biggest rodeos in the country, is attempting to lure much needed attendance to the rodeo by downplaying, of all things, the rodeo itself.

The problem of the rodeo mafia in general is to get enough people into its spectacles to keep them going. So what approach has this rodeo taken to try to lure real people into the spectacle of cruelty? San Antonio Rodeo promoters have come up with four television ads, and there isn’t a single rodeo clip in the bunch! How’s that for a rodeo shell game? Instead, the ads feature rodeo personnel in an office setting, apparently trying desperately to look like they are real people, and making stupid jokes. Read more about these smoke and mirror tactics here.

This is apparently a variation of what is going on in the bullfighting industry in Spain and Mexico, where bullrings are being used more and more for concerts and other events, and less and less for bullfighting.

And, of course, the San Antonio Rodeo is so desperate to keep the public from knowing what really goes on inside the arena, that they have banned outside videocameras. Kicking out videocameras has become standard in the rodeo industry due to the deluge of condemnation every time a new expose' of footage is released.

As we told you in our last update, country music legend Willie Nelson, who has come out strong in defense of horses facing slaughter, is scheduled to play at the San Antonio and Houston rodeos. We hope Willie simply doesn’t realize that the rodeo industry is terribly cruel to horses, and is ironically working overtime to keep the horse slaughter business alive, so they can send many of their used up and broken down equine victims to slaughter.

We have made repeated attempts to get in touch with Willie Nelson regarding his scheduled appearances at the San Antonio and Houston rodeos in February and March. So far SHARK's Janet Enoch has been able to talk to some of Willie’s people, and has been told that they are conducting their own research. We will of course update you as to what happens in this issue.

If Willie Nelson does the wrong thing and plays at these rodeos, what better evidence to give him for consideration of future rodeos than the very venues at which he is scheduled? So SHARK called down to the San Antonio and Houston rodeos and asked if videocams would be allowed. The answer from both of these cruel events to our video documentation request was an unequivocal “NO!” Typical rodeo cowardice! Were it not for the animal cruelty, these people would just be funny.

Meanwhile, please continue to contact Willie Nelson and ask him to dump the rodeo.

Willie Nelson
PO Box 91659
Austin, TX 78709-1659

Supposed longtime animal lover k.d. lang has so far failed to respond to our concerns (relayed in a previous update) about her rodeo sponsorship and words of support for the International Gay Rodeo Association Finals. By playing two shows there and sponsoring the rodeo, lang makes a mockery of her previous history of working for compassion for ALL beings.

SHARK hopes she does respond to this issue, as it makes us sick to think k.d. lang might be another Hilary Duff. Besides that, it may well make Ms. lang sick to find our Tiger Truck parked outside her concerts if she wishes to simply blow us off. Then all of her fans would get to see her hypocrisy, and since many of them are likely animal lovers, that might not be too good for business. Are you listening, k.d.?

Please send a note to Ms. lang via her webpage (scroll to the bottom) here:

Email k.d. lang here