Current Campaigns - Davie Rodeo


	Rodeo: Animal Abuse in Action The rodeo displays and encourages brutal treatment of animals and insensitivity to their suffering. Like dogfighting and cockfighting, rodeo is a form of entertainment grounded in violence. Every major animal welfare organization in America, including the A.S.P.C.A. and the Humane Society of the United States, is opposed to rodeo. The Town of Davie (west of Fort Lauderdale) hosts monthly rodeos at its Bergeron Rodeo Grounds. Rodeo Events: The Violent Abuse of Animals During the steer-wrestling event, cowboys compete to brutally wrestle animals to the ground as fast as possible. Steers are subjected to painful tail-twisting to make them run from chutes. In the calf-roping* event, animals running as fast as they can are snapped to a stop by a lasso tightened around their necks. It is common for the animals to suffer injuries. In the bronc riding or bull riding events, the animals are physically provoked into displaying “wild” behavior through the use of bucking straps or electric prods. Take away the tail-twisting, the electro-shock prods and bucking straps, and you take away the rodeo. *this event has recently been renamed "tie-down roping" to deflect criticism. The February 2005 rodeo in Davie featured an outrageous and cruel animal act in which three capuchin monkeys dressed in “cowboy” clothes were strapped onto dogs. The monkeys were terrified as the dogs raced around the rodeo arena. Tim Lepard, the animal’s trainer, has been quoted as saying, “I know what I've been through to train a monkey to ride a dog and if I can train a monkey to ride a dog, I can train a rock to do tricks.” Animal trainers in acts such as this are notorious for using abusive methods to force animals to perform.



	How Can I Help?
	Please, never attend a rodeo! Although the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds was established as a rodeo arena, the facility is now more commonly used as a venue for craft fairs, dog shows, concerts and holiday events. If you live in Davie, please contact Mayor Tom Truex and ask that the Town of Davie end its support of the rodeo. Phone: (954) 797-1039 E-mail: tom_truex@davie-fl.gov, truex@davie.org.
	Please contact the sponsors of the Davie rodeo and urge them to reconsider their support of this cruel and exploitive event.
	Rodeo Sponsors: Richard Ruble, President HomeLenders, Inc. 220 N. State Road 7, Suite 203 Hollywood, FL 33201 E-mail: info@homelendersinc.com Phone: (954) 966-3100 Fax: (954) 745-0566 Click here to submit comments via their website. As a "Chute Sponsor," HomeLenders will pay $11,000 to support the cruelty of the rodeo ($1,000 per event in 2006). Harold Bennett, President Bennett Auto Supply 3141 S.W. 10th Street Pompano Beach, FL 33069 E-mail: info@bennettauto.com Phone: (954) 335-8700 Fax: (954) 563-6253 Bennett Auto Supply pays $6,600 to be an "Event Sponsor"* (Bennett Auto Supply also serves as an advanced* ticket location for the rodeo). Janet Hoose, General Manager Port Consolidated, Inc. 3141 SE 14 Avenue Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 E-mail: jhoose@portconsolidated.com Phone: (954) 522-1182 Fax: (954) 527-1191 Port Consolidated is also an "Event Sponsor." Todd Stephens, President Stephens Distributing Company 185 Anglers Avenue Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312 E-mail: Todd@StephensDist.com Phone: (954) 989-4350 Fax: (954) 981-5911 Stephens Distributing is listed as a "Major Sponsor" of the rodeo in Davie, paying over $10,000 every year to support the abuse of animals. Tom Karpinski, General Manager Bobcat of Metro Dade 11913 NW 99th Avenue Hialeah Gardens, FL 33018-2937 E-mail: tomk@bobcatzone.com Phone: (305) 362-6632 Fax: (305) 362-6861 Bobcat of Metro Dade is a "Secretary/Press Box Sponsor." For that title, they pay the rodeo over $2000/year. Victor Weiger, Chairman Palm Truck & RV Center 2441 S. State Rd. 7 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33317-6999 E-mail: vweiger@palmtruckrv.com Phone: (954) 584-3200 Click here to submit comments via their website. Palm Truck & RV center is a "Secretary/Press Box Sponsor." UPDATES — past sponsors: BankAtlantic “BankAtlantic is not budgeted to sponsor the Davie Rodeo after this year.” -Hattie Hess, VP, Public Relations Rick Case Honda “While we are a sponsor of the Orange Blossom Festival, we are not a sponsor of the rodeo.” -Rick Case Automotive Group
	For more information about rodeos, ARFF recommends these links: — RodeoCruelty.com (SHARK) — RodeoAbuse.com (Mercy For Animals) — BuckTheRodeo.com (PETA)