Anti-Rodeo PSA

Animated by Jack E

"Rodeo is often called an American tradition rooted in ideas of grit, survival, toughness, and dominance over the land and animals. But tradition alone does not make something right. We must ask: Which traditions deserve honor and which ones are simply violence repackaged as entertainment?
In the last two years alone, horses have died at every San Diego Rodeo. These are not accidents. These are the predictable results of pushing animals past their physical and mental limits for human amusement.
A calf does not choose this life. A horse does not choose it either. They do not choose to be separated from their families, loaded into trailers, hauled across highways, blasted with noise, chased, whipped, spurred, roped, and slammed into the ground. They do not choose fear, pain, or confusion. They are forced into it.
What does it really prove to overpower a baby animal? No animal wakes up wanting to perform. No animal consents to suffering. No animal understands why they're being hurt. This isn't sport. This is fear. This is stress. This is broken bodies and terrified minds disguised as tradition.
As humans, we choose what we support. We choose what we pass down. And we can choose better." - speech given during the protest at San Diego, 1/16/2026