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

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.”

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.

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.

Professional Bull Riders Corporate Sponsors