This year, a new and decisive campaign is being carried out to express the rejection of rodeo in Chile. Animal defense organizations have described the controversial tradition as the “National Championship of Torture” within this context.
Through social media and even with a powerful march that took place on Sunday, organizations exposed the consequences that the activity has on the calves and horses involved.
Strong rejection of rodeo in Chile: the controversy over the practice
“Calves being beaten against walls, horses collapsing from exhaustion, terrified animals being repeatedly gored, kicks, screams, violence normalized as a spectacle,” denounced the NGO Animal Libre Chile on their social media.
“All of this happened at the Rancagua rodeo arena, under the complicit gaze of people who applauded each blow as if it were part of a show,” they emphasized along with various images and videos of the rodeo moment.
“It’s shameful and regrettable. Will they be able to provide an explanation at some point?” they added. “Or do they prefer to maintain a silence that demonstrates the lack of ethics they project as a company?” they wondered.
“Rodeo is not culture. It’s not a sport. It’s animal abuse. It doesn’t take much to understand it,” they concluded in the post.
This is part of the campaign carried out by organizations defending animal rights to put a stop to the practice.
As part of their visibility actions, they called for a march against rodeo during the 76th edition of the Chilean National Rodeo Championship, known as the “Champion of Chile.” It takes place at the Monumental Medialuna “Gonzalo Vial Vial” in the commune of Rancagua.
Rodeo in Chile
Traditional Chilean rodeo was declared the national sport in 1962. The goal of rodeos is to corner a cow against the arena wall while riding a horse.
The participants are Chilean cowboys known as “Huasos.” Traditionally, they wear national clothing for the competition and perform the task in pairs.
In recent decades, the practice, like many others considered “tradition” or popular, has faced constant criticism and questioning for the use of animals.
