Members of the PRCA believe that animals should be treated humanely, and there are rules and regulations that have been in place since 1947 to protect its animals. These rules are continually updated and include nearly 60 rules geared specifically toward the humane treatment of rodeo livestock. An entire section on Rodeo Livestock is covered in the PRCA Rule Book. The PRCA also publishes humane facts pamphlet outlining the care and treatment of professional rodeo livestock, from which most of this lesson’s information was obtained.
How can the PRCA be certain that an animal is not mistreated when they aren’t around that animal every day? By inspecting every animal BEFORE it is selected for competition, the PRCA experts are able to weed out the unhealthy animals. They only want healthy and athletic animals. If an animal becomes sick or injured between the time it is drawn and the time it is scheduled for a rodeo competition, it will not be used. A sick or injured animal, not only won’t feel like bucking, but it can injure itself and/or the cowboy.
Other checks in place require a veterinarian to be either on site or on call for every performance and every section of a slack, in the event an injury does occur. (A slack is events that take place outside of the ‘scheduled’ rodeo to narrow down the contestants for the more publicized, audience events. Slacks occur most often in larger rodeos when hundreds of cowboys enter, like Cheyenne Frontier Days or the Calgary Stampede.)
Rodeo committees also prepare a contingency plan to move any injured animal from the arena to a location where it can be attended undisturbed and without further exciting the animal, or the crowd.
The true livestock experts are the cowboys and cowgirls that take care of these animals every day. Experts, men and women that care about the animals, manage PRCA rodeos. Many PRCA competitors and committee members are also veterinarians. Many have grown up on ranches and have chosen this as an alternative career, or are volunteering to be close to the profession they love. All are well educated about proper livestock care.
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