Showing Animals Respect & Kindness videotapes worst charreada violence yet
WOODSTOCK & BELVIDERE, Illinois––Charreada season is back and more gratuitously brutal than ever in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, the first Showing Animals Respect & Kindness charreada drone videos of the year show, with more expected from charreada sites in both Boone and McHenry counties.
SHARK drone videos have already caught charros multiple times stripping calves’ tails down to the bone, waving the bloody lumps of flesh and hair aloft as trophies; senselessly flogging and punching their horses, who have done nothing wrong and have nowhere to go to escape the abuse; and electroshocking calves to force them to run the gauntlet of charros repeatedly, throughout a hot afternoon.
See for yourself here: https://youtu.be/CnNYSU5K9U8.
Cops ignore felony cruelty
Law enforcement response so far has been nil, despite multiple complaints from Showing Animals Respect & Kindness and others, though SHARK videos have captured several acts of not only misdemeanor cruelty but Class 3 and 4 felony cruelty as defined by Illinois law, if the cases were prosecuted to the full extent possible.
Class 3 and 4 felony cruelty in Illinois carries a prison sentence, upon conviction, of from one to five years. In some instances a conviction could get a non-U.S. citizen deported.
McHenry County deputy sheriff Derick Waters, while oblivious to charreada cruelty, was on June 4, 2023 videotaped in the act of attempting to interfere with the SHARK drone surveillance of a charreada in progress.
Waters alleged incorrectly that a drone may not fly over private property without the property owner’s permission. In truth, property rights in the U.S. do not extend into air space.
(Showing Animals Respect & Kindness photo)
“Shocked incessantly with electric prods”
“SHARK investigators and drone pilots have already documented two of these exhibitions of cruelty over the last two weekends in Illinois,” Showing Animals Respect & Kindness founder Steve Hindi emailed to supporters on June 15, 2023, “one in McHenry County and one in Boone County,” with a third charreada location nearby also under surveillance.
At the at yet undisclosed third location, Hindi told ANIMALS 24-7, sheriff’s deputies were videotaped providing security service to the charreada as apparent off-duty moonlighting.
“Steers are thrown to the ground over and over, perhaps 15 to 20 times in a single day,” Hindi described of so-called “steer-tailing,” the central event in charreada.
“The outer sheaths of their tails, which are extensions of their spine, are literally ripped off. These victims are shocked incessantly with electric prods.
(Showing Animals Respect & Kindness photo)
“What if juvenile delinquents did it?”
“The horses ridden by the contestants do not escape the abuse,” Hindi continued. “SHARK drones regularly see horses whipped, being hit in the head and eyes, and being punched. Whipping the face of one horse went on for several minutes.
“If you witness a group of juvenile delinquents torturing a dog or cat, chasing the animal as it runs to catch the animal’s tail and throwing the animal to the ground, over and over,” Hindi pointed out, “the obvious, natural response would be to call the police, and have the little monsters up on charges. They might be forced to go to a counselor. They might spend some time in a youth detention home. The parents of the creepy kids might even be faced with fines and charges of their own.
“In Boone County, McHenry County, and neighboring counties that allow charreada,” Hindi asked rhetorically, “should juvenile delinquents now be allowed to get off the hook by accurately claiming that what they are doing is almost identical to what occurs” in charreada?
Cowed or steered
Hindi on June 15, 2023 delivered a similar speech to the Boone County board of supervisors, backed by one board member.
The remainder of the Boone County and McHenry County boards of supervisors appear to remain cowed, or steered.
“Virtually all participants in charreada are Hispanic,” Hindi points out, “and they have latched onto a fake charge of racism to skulk past the punishment for animal abuse.
“But as for denying someone’s culture,” Hindi continues, “there are innumerable examples of Hispanic culture not only allowed to flourish, but are actually encouraged throughout the United States,” including Mexican restaurants, mariachi music, countless place names, and many historical monuments to Spanish and Mexican heritage, from the restored string of Catholic missions stretching up the California coast a day’s walk apart to Fort Augustine and the Alamo.
“Rodeos are at their foundation exhibitions of cruelty”
“Hispanic culture is rich in history, and there is plenty to be proud of,” emphasizes Hindi. “Abusing animals is not part of what should be celebrated, any more than American rodeos,” a frequent Showing Animals Respect & Kindness protest target for more than 30 years, “should be celebrated. Rodeos are at their foundations exhibitions of cruelty that capitalize on an animal’s fear of harm and attempted escape from pain, and possible injury and death.”
Inescapably problematic, though, are several demographic factors.
One is that while the simultaneous campaigns against cockfighting conducted by Showing Animals Respect & Kindness, the Humane Farming Association, and Animal Wellness Action continue to focus on traditional Appalachian and southern cockfighting venues, dominated by middle-aged to elderly “good old boys,” with strong local connections including within politics and law enforcement, most cockfighting participation now comes from an entirely different direction.
Rootless young men
Thus far into the 21st century, more than 95% of all the cockfighters who have been arrested outside of Appalachia have been relatively young men with Spanish surnames, and no stable community roots or employment to the extent that this can be determined from arrest reports, except within a few traditional cockfighting enclaves in California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.
Except that one needs more money and access to property to participate in charreada than to engage in cockfighting or even just betting on cockfights, Hispanic cockfighting and charreada appear to draw support from essentially the same pool of unaffiliated Spanish-speaking young men, mostly without local wives, girlfriends, or family, many of them relatively recent immigrants trying to rebuild a semblance of the rural community life they remember from before coming north.
No exposure to animal advocacy or humane education
This is a population who have mostly never been exposed to animal advocacy or humane education conducted in Spanish: not by the substantial Mexican humane community, active in urban areas, especially Mexico City, and not in the U.S. either.
There are hundreds and perhaps thousands of Spanish-speaking community humane leaders in the U.S. Southwest and in Florida, in particular, but most are women, in and around cities, addressing dog and cat issues, and––of necessity––working mostly in English.
Forestall growth of crime & cruelty under guise as “culture”
There is a huge need for welcoming Spanish-speaking outreach to the immigrant community, to introduce humane values and forestall further growth of cockfighting and charreada before they become entrenched by default as “Mexican culture,” even though they are no more “Mexican culture” than the Mafia ever was “Italian culture,” or tong wars and opium dens ever were “Chinese culture.”
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness is, essentially, a crime-fighting organization, helping to uphold mainstream community values pertaining to the treatment of animals.
To do more than expose and fight against the most egregious abuses, though, it is necessary that there also be Spanish-speaking “social workers” on behalf of animals, helping to teach and share mainstream humane values to young men whose workday jobs may be in factory farms and slaughterhouses.
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness cannot do that. But a national Spanish-speaking humane organization could, if Spanish-speaking humane leadership could step up to start one.
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Charreria is the national sport of Mexico, but also found in many states around the country. A charreada features nine standard events, only three of which have U.S. rodeo counterparts: bull riding, team roping and bronc riding. Three of the nine events involve roping the legs of running horses, either fore (“manganas”), or aft (“piales”).
LEGISLATION IS IN ORDER, BOTH LOCAL AND STATE. Alameda County, CA outlawed both “horse tripping” and “steer tailing” in 1993, an effort led by Oakland-based ACTION FOR ANIMALS. In 1994 California outlawed “horse tripping”–a dozen other states quickly followed suit. LET YOUR REPS HEAR FROM YOU! Even Cesar Chavez was an outspoken critic.
x
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland
https://archive.org/details/LetterFromCesarChavezRegardingNonviolenceTowardAnimals
Here’s a treasured 12/26/90 letter from Cesar Chavez on the rodeo issue. Good ammo to counter the “culture” and “tradition” arguments.
x
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland
I just wrote the following message to every one of the Boone County board AND the Boone County Sheriff’s Dept, in case others want to copy some of the wording:
“Dear Boone County Sheriff’s Office and County Board Members,
I’m writing to alert you to some egregious animal abuse that occurred in your county less than a week ago at a rodeo event.
I want to preface this by saying that I am not any kind of animal rights activist. I’m a former hunter, farmer, and high level competitive stockdog handler. I also have a history with horses, including owning a horse in Costa Rica in the 1990s and riding that horse from Nicaragua to Panama.
The rodeo in Boone County was filmed by a well-respected group called SHARK. Their video speaks for itself, and I strongly recommend you watch it: https://youtu.be/CnNYSU5K9U8.
In this video, you can see numerous “cowboys” kicking, punching, slapping, whipping and gouging their horses with spurs for no reason other than to “let off steam.” The horses being abused are their personal riding horses. The horses are in a confined area, waiting to run out into the arena–where the owner will then abuse some livestock. The riders at the event were also using extraordinarily harsh and painful types of curb bits and using them in a completely ignorant and abusive way.
Once on the course, the “cowboys” grab terrified and fleeing cattle by the tails so violently that they rip off the entire tail, then brandish it “in glory.” In other cases, they de-glove all the flesh off the tail. The animals involved are very obviously not going to receive medical treatment or pain killers after this event, either, but will instead be penned up and left to suffer.
This is NOT rodeo. This is pure animal abuse. Every participant shown abusing animals in this video should be tracked down and arrested. I’m sure this public event must have a list of the competitors that participated. This is a stain on Boone County that only you can remedy.
Don’t take the easy way out and say it’s “part of the culture.” Stand up for the law and get these animal abusers their day in court.”
Dear Sharon: Thanks for your efforts. Would you please post the contact info you have for the Boone Co. Board and Sheriff’s Dept. so that others might write/email as well?
Thanks,
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland
Boone County, IL
1212 Logan Ave.
Suite 102 Belvidere, IL 61008
Info2@boonecountyil.org
The twelve individual commissioners may be identified at https://www.boonecountyil.gov/government/county_board/index.php
Thank you very much for writing to them, Sharon.
County and state legislation is in order to outlaw this abuse. Animal advocates should contact the county Board of Supervisors as well as your state representatives. “Steer tailing” is not a routine practice anywhere in the U.S.
PRECEDENT: The State of Nebraska outlawed both “horse tripping” and “steer tailing” in 2008. Two counties in California (Alameda & Contra Costa) outlawed both events back in 1993.
x
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland – afa@mcn.org
There were charreadas where I lived, two locations ago, along with pitbulls, gang violence, and other antisocial behavior.
I don’t care who you are, where you come from, what your ideology is, or what culture(s) you claim. Cruelty isn’t culture. It’s CRUELTY. It’s SUFFERING. It’s inflicting suffering on the innocent. And that, wherever you come from/whatever you believe, is a CRIME.
Most ideologies have some form of what the Christians refer to as the golden rule. It’s the best rule there is. It needs to be honored, and applied.
Sharing with gratitude and a whole lot more.
So sadistic! Dominist treatment of the highly evolved horses is not right!
Charreada is the celebration of traditional methods of animal husbandry. It is no more dangerous to animals than high school football is to students.
Randolph M. Janssen and/or any other apologists for steer-tailing will be hard-put to find any historical reference to it among descriptions of “traditional methods of animal husbandry,” especially in cattle ranching, which has been often described and well-documented for almost as long as cattle have been domesticated.
ANIMALS 24-7 checked historical accounts of California hacienda procedures back to 1840 and found no reference to steer-tailing. Visitors during mission times, including Richard Henry Dana, were impressed by the skill of vaqueros with plaited leather lariats, but made no mention of anything resembling steer-tailing, done either as a ranch procedure or as a stunt.
This is for a fairly obvious reason: cattle thrown in such a manner as to break limbs and lose use of their tails as part of a procedure such as branding or castration would be ill-suited thereafter for life on the open range.
NewspaperArchive.com, collecting news media published either in English or in other languages within the U.S. since 1607, includes just one reference to steer-tailing before 1967. In that reference, on June 24, 1905, a Presbyterian clergyman in Laredo, Texas, took out an injunction to stop a steer-tailing stunt event. From 1967 to date, descriptions of steer-tailing as a stunt event are relatively frequent in the news media serving a few communities close to the Mexican border, notably Del Rio, Texas, which accounts for more than half of the total coverage. However, not even one account makes any pretense that steer-tailing is, or was ever, a “traditional method of animal husbandry.”
Yanking the tails of cattle is a part of jallikattu, the extremely violent form of participant bullfighting practiced in parts of south India, despite having been banned several times, but no one has ever even seriously alleged that jallikattu is a “traditional method of animal husbandry,” or an acceptable practice among others than members of the lowest social class.
Randy Janssen is a lawyer (!) and long-time charreada promoter based in Texas. See his deranged website, http://www.legalizehorsetripping.com (I’m not making this up.)
I share your concern about the need for some serious SPANISH LANGUAGE outreach to the Hispanic community. Charreadas are largely family affairs, and I’m betting that most are unaware of local laws. CASE IN POINT: A charro friend tells me there are some 800 charreadas held in California annually. That’s about TEN TIMES the number of rodeos, mostly unknown to the general public. California rodeo law (Penal Code 596.7, established in the year 2000) requires that rodeo and charreada animal injury reports be submitted to the State Veterinary Medical Board within 48 hours of the the event’s end. Every state should have such a law, minimum. YET, IN 23 YEARS, NOT A SINGLE CHARREADA INJURY REPORT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE VET BOARD! Simply not possible. And ignorance of the law should be no excuse. Clearly there’s a crying need for educating the charros and their supporters about laws now on the books.
x
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS – Oakland
Randolph’s first sentence is ridiculous, and his second is an out-and-out lie, as can be seen here: https://youtu.be/2yQ-pIiGGTs
Feel free to respond, Mr. Janssen.
It doesn’t matter why they do it, the laws in Illinois are very clear in that ” No person or owner may beat, cruelly treat, torment, starve or otherwise abuse any animal.”
People should also be contacting the Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Todd Marsch at 217 – 991-8626. Let him know that we will never visit their wonderful state because of this, just in case the police don’t want to do anything.