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Bull Riding Fans Confront Animal Rights Protesters at Madison Square Garden

January 10, 2024 by Leave a Comment


The News

“Fuck the bulls.  Fuck the bulls.”

As animal rights activists protested a Professional Bull Riding (PBR) event at NYC’s Madison Square Garden (MSG), fans heading inside greeted them with obscenities, remarks about eating meat and nervous smiles. The reactions came as no surprise to the activists, who have protested year-after-year in an effort to educate the public about the cruelty associated with bull riding.

“Bulls don’t naturally buck,” said Nora Constance Marino, an attorney who organizes the annual PBR protest at Madison Square Garden. “The bull riders use cruel methods to provoke them that may include shocking them with electric prods, jabbing them with spurs, squeezing them with flank straps and twisting their tails. Everything about this so-called sport is inhumane.”

Photo of a man riding on the back of a bull at Madison Square Garden

Bull riders use weapons including electric prods, spurs and flank straps to provoke bulls into bucking

While most of the PBR patrons ignored the protesters, several stopped to say that they had misgivings about attending. Some agreed that bull riding is inhumane, and others said they came only because they received free tickets.

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Watch bull riding fans clash with #animalrights activists protesting the Professional Bull Riding (PBR) show at Madison Square Garden. A few of PBR’s corporate sponsors are tagged. #animalcruelty #bullrider

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A few patrons defended the “sport,” stating that the “bulls are treated better than people.” After speaking to Edita Birnkrant, a protester who said that some of the bulls are injured and killed, one devoted PBR fan acknowledged that she could be correct. “It’s possible,” he said.

Photo of bulls being transported in a trailer and held in holding pen before a bull riding event

PBR transports bulls around the country in trailers and stores them in holding pens at bull riding arenas

For years, activists in NYC have called on the management at MSG to stop hosting the PBR. In 2019 and early 2020, before the pandemic, the Animal Cruelty Exposure Fund (ACEF), Marino’s organization, staged protests at the Upper East Side home of then MSG Sports President Andrew Lustgarten. His neighbors told the activists that they suspect the protests led him to move out of the building.

Photo of animal rights activists protesting bull riding at Madison Square Garden

Animal rights activists in NYC protest bull riding at Madison Square Garden

According to PETA, animals used in rodeo events, including bull riding, “commonly sustain broken bones, punctured lungs, snapped necks, or torn muscles, and they sometimes die in an arena.”

Photo of PBR's corporate sponsors

Cruelty to animals violates the corporate social responsibility policies espoused by many of the PBR’s sponsors, but that doesn’t stop them from underwriting the bull riding tour.


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Animal Rights Activists and Bull Riding Fans Face Off During Protests at Madison Square Garden

January 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment


The News

Dozens of animal rights activists with Animal Cruelty Exposure Fund and PETA staged three days of protests at Madison Square Garden as spectators entered the annual bull riding show hosted by the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). While some of the PBR fans took a handout explaining why bull riding is inhumane, most of them either ignored or taunted the activists, encouraging them to “get a job” and “eat steak.” According to the protesters, none of them defended bull riding by stating that the bulls are treated well or that the practice is humane.

“The bulls are stuffed into trailers, hauled around the country and provoked with cattle prods, flank straps and spurs to get them to buck,” said Nora Constance Marino, President of Animal Cruelty Exposure Fund (ACEF), a New York-based animal rights organization. “If they want to partake in bull riding, they can use mechanical bulls.”

According to PETA, animals used in rodeo events, including bull riding, “commonly sustain broken bones, punctured lungs, snapped necks, or torn muscles, and they sometimes die in an arena. Anyone who cares about animals should avoid these spectacles of suffering.”

Photo of bull bucking during PBR bull riding event

Bull riders provoke bulls into bucking with cattle prods, flank straps and spurs

ACEF, PETA and other local animal rights groups have been protesting the annual bull riding show at Madison Square Garden for at least ten years. In 2021, their efforts were bolstered by New York State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who introduced legislation that would prevent bull riding from taking place in the state by banning the tools that bull riders use to make the animals buck. The bill is pending in the legislature’s agriculture committee.

Photo of a bill in NY State that would effectively ban bull riding

In 2021, NY State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal introduced legislation that would end bull fighting in the state by banning the tools used to provoke the bulls into bucking (click photo to see legislation)

In addition to demonstrating at the bull riding events, NYC activists have staged six anti-rodeo protests at the Manhattan home of Andrew Lustgarten, the CEO of Madison Square Garden. Based on feedback from his neighbors, the activists speculate that the protests led him to move out of his luxury condominium on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The PBR is sponsored by several national corporations. Its largest sponsor is Monster, the energy drink company.

Photo of logos of the corporations that sponsor the Professional Bull Riders

Professional Bull Riders Corporate Sponsors


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Bull Riding Fans Clash with Animal Rights Protesters in New York City

January 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment


The News

It was business as usual at the annual bull riding rodeo in NYC, with patrons greeting protesters with obscene gestures; accusing them of wearing leather shoes; and promising to eat “a juicy steak” after the show.

For the past decade, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has, as a part of its national tour, staged a three day rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York City. And, each year, animal rights activists have  protested at the entrance.

Animal rights activists stage three days of protests at the bull riding rodeo at Madison Square Garden

Animal rights activists stage three days of protests (Jan 15 – 17) at the bull riding rodeo at Madison Square Garden

While the majority of bull riding patrons who stopped to engage with the protesters during the three days of protests were hostile and defensive, a few attempted to convince them that the bulls are treated with great care because they earn a living for the riders. Activists in NYC say they have heard that before, as that is the same argument used by the horse-drawn carriage operators who drive their horses through the congested streets of midtown Manhattan.

Bull riders use weapons to make the animals buck

Bull riders use weapons and drugs to make the animals buck

Your Turn

Learn more about bull riding cruelty from the organization leading the fight to expose it —  SHARK (Showing Animals Respect & Kindness)


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