Activists Protest Upcoming Rodeo at Madison Square Garden
The News
Dozens of animal rights activists staged a protest at Madison Square Garden (MSG) to demand that the company cancel a rodeo scheduled for June, 2020. The rush hour protest, organized by the advocacy groups Animal Cruelty Exposure Fund (ACEF), NYCLASS and Lion, attracted the attention of thousands of commuters and tourists entering and exiting Penn Station, a railway station located in the same building complex as MSG. TheirTurn spoke to protesters and pedestrians who stopped to learn more.
“New York City hasn’t hosted a rodeo in 30 years” said Nora Constance Marino, the President of ACEF. “How can Madison Square Garden President Andrew Lustgarten allow this iconic venue in one of the world’s most progressive cities to be used for a barbaric event where animals are tortured? NYC has 16 animal protection bills pending right now. MSG is going in the wrong direction, and vast majority of New Yorkers don’t want this animal abuse in our city.”
In response, Marino said, “It is remarkable that MSG claims that a rodeo cares about the well-being of animals. Simply observing footage of one completely refutes that notion.”
A 2017 law that banned the use of wild animals in shows does not apply to rodeos, which use calves, horses and other domesticated animals.
All animals are sentient beings. Respect them. Stop cruelty. Be right. Go vegan!
I wish you godspeed in your campaign to stop this rodeo. To me, rodeos epitomize how far we have NOT succeeded in getting people to empathize with animals and to oppose animal cruelty. A rodeo is so OBVIOUSLY cruel and brutal to the animals, whose faces and eyes always express hopelessness and defeat and fear. It seems like “cowboy culture” is becoming more and more mainstream as a sentimentalized macho “ideal” of American life and a cheesy tribute to “diversity.” What is the Mayor doing about this? Probably, since his Presidential campaign is all about ‘working people,” he supports cowboys the same as carriage horse drivers. Clearly, abused animals are not on his radar.
My family and I will never visit Madison square garden if it’s a location for a rodeo.