Ryan ChartrandOn behalf of the newly emerging club on campus, Animal Perspective, we are disappointed by Alexis White’s allegations in the Mustang Daily about removing posters advertising the rodeo and replacing them with our signs about protesting it. We took no part in the wrongful destruction of fellow students’ advertisements. Our signs have also recently disappeared.
Throughout planning the demonstration, we made sure everything was done in a respectful manner. We received permission from both UPD and the Open House committee for this event. We want our opinions to be respected and would not participate in actions that might jeopardize our reputation.
Our reason for protesting the rodeo is not to rob the team of its funding. We believe in the equality of all species and do not support actions harmful to animals. Whether or not the livestock is properly fed, rodeos cause injuries to animals, such as organ bruising, hemorrhaging and bone fractures. Bucking straps are cinched around the animals’ abdomens to cause pain, which makes them buck, desperately attempting to remove it. Ohio has actually outlawed bucking straps because it is inhumane. In 2000, the Pittsburg Tribune published one cowboy’s statement: “If you can’t use those devices, then you have no rodeo.”
We understand how it feels to put effort into an event and have it disrespected. We simply want to voice our beliefs about an issue we hold dear to our hearts, and would never so blatantly destroy something that our fellow students took so much effort to create.