Rodeo plan spurs 'trash culture' charges
By Wang Qingchu |
July 20, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN American rodeo planned for Beijing's National Stadium in October is being met with protests from 68 Chinese animal-rights groups, who call it animal cruelty and are asking for a ban on such "trash culture" entering China.
The animal activists want the American organizers, Las Vegas-based ZZYX Entertainment and Less Is Forever More Inc, to cancel the performance. They have displayed more than 200 video clips showing animals being abused in rodeos merely for the entertainment of audiences.
Chinese organizers of the event said they are willing to cancel events if they agree that animal torture is part of the sport, The Beijing News reported yesterday.
Rodeo China, one of the activities planned for 40th-anniversary celebrations of Sino-US cultural exchanges, is scheduled to take place in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, for eight days starting from October 3. Events including bull riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping and other traditional cowboy activities.
The Chinese animal-rights organizations, such as Capital Animal Welfare Association and Shenzhen Stray God Shelter, said they have concrete evidence that the American organizers have hidden from the Chinese parties the most brutal pain they inflict on animals in rodeos, according to their report.
"We don't want the trash culture to come to China," the animal activists were quoted by the newspaper as saying.
If their request for the rodeo's cancellation is not met, they want it to be monitored by animal activists and Chinese media. Organizers should also be required to publish details of how the animals will be handled after the event, and minors under 18 years old should not be allowed to attend, the rights groups say.
American organizers said the performance won't be called off. They welcomed the opinions from the animal-rights groups, but denied that rodeos hurt animals.
"There is no evidence to prove that rodeo encourages animal cruelty," the organizers were quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"We welcome animal-rights groups to supervise the event. But I wish they could look at it with more rationality and not be extreme," said Li Liguo, secretary of the China International Friendship Cities Association, one of the Chinese hosts of the show, the newspaper reported.
The association says it has not found evidence of abuse of animals in its research so far.
In tie-down roping, a cowboy chases a calf on horseback, catches it, forces it down and ties any three legs as fast as possible. The rights groups claim the calf's neck and back can be severely wounded when it's roped and that it can suffer bone fractures or even death.
The American organizers said the calf runs only about 5-10 kilometers per hour and the roping lasts only 10 seconds. Not a single calf has been hurt in the activity, they claimed.
"It's a pure commercial activity to make profits under the guise of promoting Sino-American culture exchange," Qin Xiaona, chairman of Capital Animal Welfare Association, told China Business News yesterday.
The animal activists want the American organizers, Las Vegas-based ZZYX Entertainment and Less Is Forever More Inc, to cancel the performance. They have displayed more than 200 video clips showing animals being abused in rodeos merely for the entertainment of audiences.
Chinese organizers of the event said they are willing to cancel events if they agree that animal torture is part of the sport, The Beijing News reported yesterday.
Rodeo China, one of the activities planned for 40th-anniversary celebrations of Sino-US cultural exchanges, is scheduled to take place in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, for eight days starting from October 3. Events including bull riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping and other traditional cowboy activities.
The Chinese animal-rights organizations, such as Capital Animal Welfare Association and Shenzhen Stray God Shelter, said they have concrete evidence that the American organizers have hidden from the Chinese parties the most brutal pain they inflict on animals in rodeos, according to their report.
"We don't want the trash culture to come to China," the animal activists were quoted by the newspaper as saying.
If their request for the rodeo's cancellation is not met, they want it to be monitored by animal activists and Chinese media. Organizers should also be required to publish details of how the animals will be handled after the event, and minors under 18 years old should not be allowed to attend, the rights groups say.
American organizers said the performance won't be called off. They welcomed the opinions from the animal-rights groups, but denied that rodeos hurt animals.
"There is no evidence to prove that rodeo encourages animal cruelty," the organizers were quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"We welcome animal-rights groups to supervise the event. But I wish they could look at it with more rationality and not be extreme," said Li Liguo, secretary of the China International Friendship Cities Association, one of the Chinese hosts of the show, the newspaper reported.
The association says it has not found evidence of abuse of animals in its research so far.
In tie-down roping, a cowboy chases a calf on horseback, catches it, forces it down and ties any three legs as fast as possible. The rights groups claim the calf's neck and back can be severely wounded when it's roped and that it can suffer bone fractures or even death.
The American organizers said the calf runs only about 5-10 kilometers per hour and the roping lasts only 10 seconds. Not a single calf has been hurt in the activity, they claimed.
"It's a pure commercial activity to make profits under the guise of promoting Sino-American culture exchange," Qin Xiaona, chairman of Capital Animal Welfare Association, told China Business News yesterday.
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