Bubble Wrap??

A feeling of frustration came over me as I read the newspaper this morning.  In it was an article highlighting the number of animal deaths at this year's Calgary Stampede.  There was a quote in the article from an animal rights group, the Calgary Animal Rights Meet-up Group, stating, "This is exactly why we protest the rodeo." "When people use animals in entertainment in high-risk situations, this is what happens.  Every year animals die."

You can read the article for yourself at this link.  

What frustrated me is how the animal rights groups never seem to want you to do anything with your animals.  Because it's so incredibly cruel.  I won't comment on Chuckwagon Racing because the sport is one I don't enjoy and won't watch.  However, the rodeo horse with the broken back, I will comment on.  Seriously, my horse could hypothetically go out and buck hard enough to do this to herself.  Having once been part of the rodeo world I know those animals are cared for.  In fact, they are worth far more than my lowly saddle horse could ever aspire to.  

A freak accident in cattle penning and it's horse cruelty?  Are you going to try and tell me that horse doesn't LOVE chasing cows?  That it would be better off in a field doing nothing?  Perhaps these animal rights people would be better served hanging around auction markets.  Then they might see some things to get upset about, instead of looking at someone's well cared for high performance animal and stating that it's cruel to have it perform.  The vast majority of animal owners that I met in my travels in the rodeo and performance world CARE about their charges.  They have a tremendous amount of money wrapped up in these animals and for some of the people their livelihood depends on how well the animal performs.  

So here I sit with my high performance animals that I know are well loved and cared for, and thinking about the wonderful mare who caused a career ending injury playing in her large grassy field.  And I wonder what those lovely animal rights activists would think about that.  Perhaps she should never have been allowed out into her natural environment.  You know, because it's so dangerous.  Surely I could have prevented that traumatic injury.  But the simple reality of the situation is that no matter how much we care, things happen, accidents happen, and injuries both to humans and animals happen.  

Perhaps I need to get out the bubble wrap...

(And I'll get off my soapbox now!)