Prohibiting cruel rodeos (Los Angeles, CA)

At rodeos, animal cruelty is in full public view — where docile animals are chased, wrangled, roped, and tormented for spectacle and so-called entertainment. The horses, bulls, steer, and calves can suffer painful injuries, including broken ribs, backs, and legs, torn tails, punctured lungs, internal organ damage, ripped tendons, torn ligaments, snapped necks, and agonizing deaths.

Los Angeles Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced an ordinance amending Section 53.00 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to prohibit six cruel rodeo events. (Council File: 20-1575).

The ordinance will:

• Make it unlawful to organize or engage in any of the following activities for live public amusement or entertainment:  Bareback Bronc Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bull Riding, Calf Roping, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, or any other activity that involves physically wrestling an animal to the ground, roping an animal, or attempting to ride and remain mounted on a bucking animal.

This proposed law is similar to other ordinances which have been adopted in nearby communities including Laguna Woods (2000), Pasadena (2001), Chino Hills (2010), and Irvine (2011). The Orange County Fair made a decision to not continue with rodeos for the foreseeable future following a catastrophic injury to a bull in 2023.

There are few laws protecting animals forced to perform in rodeos. The federal Animal Welfare Act exempts rodeos from the protections it provides to animals. Some states exempt rodeos from their anti-cruelty statutes, while other states defer to clearly inadequate Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association regulations to judge whether animal cruelty has occurred in rodeos.