It will be Junior Rodeo time again at the Clallam County Fairgrounds this Saturday and Sunday, and youth rodeo activities, including goat tying, are part of the action.
Unfortunately, the plight of animals involved does not garner the attention it deserves.
Consider the point of view of the goat — tied to the ground, terrified by the onrushing cowgirl and her mount, thrown violently to the ground and then its legs forcibly bound with rope.
Again. And again.
If a participant’s beloved horse was taken from her and subjected to the same treatment for the sake of someone else’s amusement or “sport,” I doubt the cowgirl (or her horse) would be happy about it.
Rather, I suspect she might call 9-1-1 and report animal cruelty.
Some traditions or sports ought to end.
I submit goat-tying is one.
There are plenty of other equestrian activities available that don’t inflict harm on the innocent.
Goat-tying perpetuates the idea that the well-being of our fellow species does not matter and they can be mistreated with impunity.
That is wrong.
On the other end of the spectrum, Leslie Torres, a high school girl in California, raised a lamb as her Future Farmers of America project but this year couldn’t go through with sending her friend to the auction at the end of the Santa Barbara County Fair for its prompt execution at the slaughterhouse because she and the lamb had formed a very natural bond.
Risking the ridicule of her peers, Leslie had the courage to donate the lamb to a local animal sanctuary.
Now that is something truly admirable.
Tom Fairhall,
Port Townsend
