Los Angeles City Council Unanimously Votes in Favor of a Rodeo Ban Ordinance

Contacts: media@aldf.org

LOS ANGELES — Today, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in favor of a rodeo ban ordinance to prohibit rodeo events in the city that routinely harm and kill animals, such as bull riding and calf roping. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield has been championing this effort for years which originally aimed to ban harmful devices used in rodeo, such as electric prods, spurs lassos, and bucking straps. The city attorney will now draft the amended language which will go through review in the Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee before going back to the council for final approval.

“Today the Los Angeles City Council sent a message — that an ordinance is needed to protect animals from inhumane practices and suffering that take place at rodeo events,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Campaigns Manager Matt Rossell. “We thank Councilmember Blumenfield for his leadership and advocates for their efforts to pass the ordinance and we look forward to a final passing vote.”

“Animal cruelty in the rodeo is too rampant to ignore and has no place in a city like Los Angeles that embraces compassion for all animals,” says actress Kate Mara. “Tradition is not an excuse to prey on the vulnerable and just like we’ve seen with animal circuses and marine parks, sweeping changes are being made to align businesses with our morals. I am proud to support the Animal Legal Defense Fund and activists everywhere in this fight to relegate rodeos to history books.”

Efforts to ban rodeo events to protect animals in Los Angeles launched in 2020 with a motion from the Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) Board of Commissioners asking the city council to prohibit rodeo events in the city of Los Angeles. Again, this October, The LAAS Board unanimously passed another motion with the same request “in keeping with the City’s practices regarding welfare and the well-being of animals.”

Rodeos use inhumane practices and painful devices, including electric prods, flank straps, and spurs to encourage aggressive behavior and exaggerated bucking in bulls and horses. As a result, these animals suffer injuries that can include broken backs and legs. In roping events, calves are stopped forcefully by a lasso around their neck while running at full speed, and are slammed to the ground, resulting in punctured lungs, internal organ damage, ripped tendons, torn ligaments, snapped necks, and agonizing deaths. Injuries that do take place are chronically underreported.