Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Animal-Rights Group Targets Rodeo
by Amy Wooten
2007-08-22

This article shared 9427 times since Wed Aug 22, 2007
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


An animal-rights organization founded and headed by a gay man is calling on the local LGBT community to boycott the upcoming Windy City Rodeo.

Windy City Rodeo is an annual gay rodeo created by the Illinois Gay Rodeo Association ( ILGRA ) . Mercy for Animals is calling on the gay community to boycott the event. The organization says that rodeos—gay or straight—harm and exploit animals. ILGRA says that these claims are untrue, and members are saddened that these attacks are coming from within the community.

'Quite simply, rodeos, like hate crimes, are unacceptable forms of violence against the vulnerable that the gay community should work diligently to end,' said Mercy for Animals founder and executive director Nathan Runkle, who cited an instance witnessed by a staff member a number of years back at a Minnesota gay rodeo event, where a steer was injured and killed.

According to Runkle, rodeos force animals to perform against their will and are inherently cruel. 'In fact, nearly all animals exploited in rodeo events endure the stress of transport, the inherent cruelty of the rodeo events, and then have their throats slit at slaughterhouses when they are no longer useful,' Runkle said.

The 2007 Windy City Rodeo will take place Aug. 24-26 in Crete, Ill. The event raises funds for local organizations.

ILGRA is a member of the International Gay Rodeo Association ( IGRA ) , an organization that comprises 28 associations from the United States and Canada. IGRA has a uniform set of rules demanding the humane treatment of animals. IGRA claims its rules have been greatly modified from straight rodeo rules.

'We do not do the cruel and heinous things that organizations like this would like you to believe,' ILGRA trustee and president emeritus Ed Barry said in a letter sent to Windy City Times. 'Our position is unique to the world of rodeo and we are very proud of our pro animal, safety and competitor position.'

Under these rules, contestants found guilty of cruelty towards animals are penalized. The least severe punishment is immediate disqualification from further competition.

According to Windy City Rodeo Co-Director Anthony Adamowski, ILGRA has used the same livestock contractor for many years due to his professionalism and the quality of his animals. 'On occasion, animals ( like human rodeo competitors ) can get injured,' Adamowski said. 'When that happens, the animal is immediately pulled from competition and tended to by our on-site veterinarian.'

Adamowski said that there has not been an instance at a Windy City Rodeo where a participant had to be penalized for cruelty toward the animals. 'I've gone back through our rodeo review file for the past several years and have found no instances in which a competitor was disqualified from the rodeo due to allegations of animal mistreatment,' he said. 'Nor could I find any instances in which an arena official, volunteer, and/or members of the stock ­contractor's staff was reprimanded for animal cruelty.'

Among other things, the IGRA Rodeo Rules include bylaws that prohibit the use of lame, sick, sore or undersized stock; and they enforce the release of animals in danger of injury. IGRA's Statement on Animal Welfare can be found at www.igra.com/welfare.htm.


This article shared 9427 times since Wed Aug 22, 2007
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicagoan involved in PETA contest 2015-04-23
- Gay Chicago resident Shane Devins is in the running to be named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA's) Sexiest Vegan Next Door, according to LGBT Weekly. Devins, 27, beat out hundreds of other entrants ...


Gay News

PETA honors Ricky Martin, Alan Cumming; gay boxer gets married 2013-11-27
Entertainment news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Ricky Martin, Alan Cumming, Sara Gilbert and Morrissey are among the 20 celebrities starring in PETA's "Vegetarian Icon" stamps, according to On Top Magazine. Appearing on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show last month, Martin said that ...


Gay News

Ethical Treatment: PETA, LGBT community share bonds 2013-04-10
- It's long been a joke that one of the signs of lesbianism is a vegetarian or vegan diet, a point made hilariously funny by RuPaul's character Mike in the 1990s film But I'm a Cheerleader. "In ...


Gay News

Johnny Weir gets married; PETA vs. Janet Jackson 2012-01-04
Entertainment news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Out figure skater/reality-TV star Johnny Weir married his boyfriend Dec. 31, Victor Voronov, On Top Magazine reported. Talking with IceNetwork.com, Weir, 27, said of Voronov, "He's wonderful. He's totally not in my field at all. He ...


Gay News

Jany Lynch Targets Breeders in new PETA campaign 2010-05-14
From a News Release - Glee Star Appears in Group's TV Spot, Urges Hometown Mayor to 'Fix' Animals in Chicago Chicago — Jane Lynch, who is known for playing opinionated Cheerios coach Sue Sylvester on the hit television show Glee, is ...


Gay News

Bea Arthur in PETA campaign, beyond the grave 2010-04-25
From a News Release - When she was alive, Bea Arthur was one of PETA's most stalwart supporters, and now—through a provocative campaign that PETA is launching thanks to a bequest in her will—Bea will remain an activist even in ...


Gay News

Ellen Degeneres, Tim Gunn PETA's Woman, Man of Year 2009-12-31
- Talk-Show Host and Style Guru Win Group's Annual Top Honors New York — Drumroll, please: Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres and style guru Tim Gunn today were named PETA's 2009 Woman of the Year and Man of ...


Gay News

PETA wants gay-friendly school to be veggie 2008-10-22
- PETA is urging the design team of the proposed gay-friendly Chicago public high school to institute a vegetarian-only menu. If approved by the Chicago Board of Education on Oct. 22, the Social Justice High School ...


Gay News

Point/Counterpoint: Rodeo 2007-09-12
- The Windy City Rodeo may be over for this year, but the debate about alleged animal cruelty—as connected to the event—rages on. Here, Daniel Hauff of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Brian ...


Gay News

Books: Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir 2007-07-11
- Dan Mathews 272 pages; $24 REVIEW BY YASMIN NAIR Dan Mathews is a vice president. Ordinarily, people with such titles are somber spokespersons for their causes and/or organizations. But Mathews holds this post at PETA (People ...


Gay News

Black Poses for PETA 2006-11-15
- Legendary horror queen and gay icon Karen Black, whose decades-spanning career includes both Alfred Hitchcock's classic Family Plot and Rob Zombie's recent House of 1,000 Corpses can now add a PETA (People for the Ethical ...


Gay News

Activists Protest Abbott 2006-05-03
- On April 28, activists around the world protested Abbott Laboratories AIDS policies—and those developments included protests at Abbott headquarters as well as the Chicago Tribune offices. Over 100 activists ...


Gay News

Rodman Bares All for PETA ... 2005-03-09
- ...


Gay News

Amy Sedaris' new ad for PETA 2005-02-09
- Amy Sedaris—fresh from Sundance where her new Strangers with Candy film with Sarah Jessica Parker got rave reviews—has just shot a new ad for PETA ... it's a parody of the famous 'What Becomes A Legend ...


Gay News

Chicago House's Wrapture 2004-12-29
- Chicago House's 'Wrapture' Varieties of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, a chocolate fountain, ice sculptures and candle lit tables adorned with red rose petals helped ring in the holiday season at the 3rd Annual Champagne Wrapture fundraiser for ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.