WORCESTER—A coalition of animal rights organizations, including Western Mass Animal Rights Advocates, New Hampshire Animal Rights League, and Compassionworks International, plans to assemble on Sunday, Feb. 25, from 12:30-2 p.m., the second day of a two-day bull riding event scheduled at the DCU Center.
The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour makes its only Massachusetts stop on Saturday and Sunday at the DCU Center, at which “some of the best bull riders in the world will battle the sport’s rankest bovine athletes in the ultimate showdown of man vs. beast in one of the most exciting live sporting events to witness,” according to PBR’s event description.
Sheryl Becker, president and founder of Western Mass. Animal Rights Advocates, told The Worcester Guardian that she hopes the demonstration will shed light on what the animal rights organizations argue are harsh realities faced by bulls in these events.
“We believe it is important to expose the truth of what the bulls used in these events must endure,” said Becker. “Through our public demonstration, we hope to raise awareness in people choosing to attend that the animals subjected to bull riding events are not unfeeling robots, but live, sentient beings. I can only imagine the outrage that we would see in MA if family dogs were on tour being tormented for entertainment. Why is this appropriate for an animal of any species? Simple. It isn’t.”
Becker said her group only organizes these assemblies in Western and Central Massachusetts, but groups are protesting in other states. WMARA protests bull riding events and rodeos, as well as circuses (in which animals are involved), and has protested the PBR tour every year that it has been in Springfield, but is “now starting to protest the tour in Worcester, although it has been there for at least five years.”
The rodeo sport has garnered international attention, leading to bans in countries such as Brazil, the United Kingdom and Italy, and is “partially banned” in Canada and the United States. Cities such as Los Angeles have also taken steps to restrict some bull riding practices, such as the use of electric prods, metal spurs, and “bucking straps.”
“[Holding these protests] has definitely moved the needle,” continued Becker. “I’m not sure about any bull riding events that animal rights groups have gotten canceled, but I have seen with my own eyes many people surprised to learn how cruel they are, and some said they will never return. Many attend bull riding events because they feel pressured by friends or family, yet know deep down that it is wrong. Some have said they won’t go again, even if they feel pressured. Fortunately, I believe our protests at MassMutual Center in Springfield helped keep them from returning there. Since 2021, they haven’t been back there.”
Rodeo advocates and fans maintain that groups such as WMARA “use oft-repeated falsehoods to try to disparage and cancel a sport enjoyed by millions of Americans watching on CBS and filling arenas coast to coast,” according to PBR spokesperson Andrew Giangola.
“Each bull rider takes two athletes – a courageous cowboy and a bull born to buck,” Giangola told the Worcester Guardian. “Just as PBR respects our riders, we treasure our remarkable bull athletes, who get the best care, love what they do, and live a pampered, long life, eventually passing long after their careers are over from natural causes on a ranch. Considering the all-too-brief life of all other male bovines, everyone who wants the best for animals should support this sport. PBR looks forward to another successful event bringing family entertainment and joy to fans throughout the greater New England area.”
Giangola continued to state that contrary to allegations, there is no negative stimulation to cause the bulls to buck.
“These extraordinary animals, truly world-class athletes, are not shocked, cut, prodded, or otherwise agitated to buck,” he said. “The riders’ spurs are dull. The flank strap is a soft cotton rope that bothers a bull as much as a belt worn by humans bothers them. Bucking is in their bloodlines.”
PBR keeps a heavy schedule, and its tours and events are scheduled in large venues across the country. Upcoming city stops include Bridgeport, CT, Knoxville, TN, and Bangor, ME.
Becker argued that promoting a bull riding event as “family-friendly” is a contradiction and that it normalizes cruel treatment of animals and impacts children’s perception of animals. She said she expects at least 10 people to attend the Worcester protest, and that their efforts have prompted “many” to complain to the MassMutual Center (in Springfield) and to the DCU Center, as well as Worcester City Council and the mayor’s office.
“WMARA protests at circuses with animals too,” she said. “We protest at The Big E every year, as well as Commerford Petting Zoo, which travels throughout the northeast and has a horrendous record of Animal Welfare Act violations. They also owned Beulah, a sick elderly elephant that died at The Big E in 2019. I believe many people are unaware of how much the animals in bull riding events suffer and would reconsider attending if they knew. I hope the awareness is growing, but I am not sure.”
Representatives from WMARA reach out to venues planning to host events such as rodeos and urge them to cancel. So far, no venue has canceled due to their complaints, but some have stopped hosting them in the future, Becker said.
“We believe the venues do listen to all the outcries, especially from those who have attended the events and refuse to return,” said Becker. “Some parents have done that after taking their children to Commerford Petting Zoo and circuses with animals that fortunately no longer are in those large venues. But we are still trying to get The Big E to stop hosting circuses with animals.”
Charlene Arsenault can be reached at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
