URGENT! San Fran Bay Area to REVERSE Ban on Shocking Horses at Rodeos! PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY!

November 7, 2008

I guess they just couldn't get these docile, abused animals to appear "wild" without the torture. Please help SHARK TODAY!

Hayward, CA May Allow Shocking of Horses at Rodeo

Help Needed in San Francisco Bay Area to Keep Shocking Ban

Friends, we need your help. Unbelievably, next week the Hayward Area Park and Recreation Board (HARD) in Hayward, CA is considering turning back the clock on their 20-year ban on electrical prods at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo and reverting to the outdated and cruel practice of electro-shocking animals to make them perform. We need to make sure the ban stays in place for the sake of the animals. You may remember that this past spring, SHARK investigators documented rodeo hands shocking calm, tame horses with 5,000 volts of painful electricity to make them appear wild. See our video. As a result of this videotape, stock contractor Cotton Rosser was fined $2,500.00 dollars! Read article here.

But now the HARD Board of Directors, with strong pressure from the rodeo abusers, is considering changing their policy to allow the horses to be cruelly shocked solely for entertainment purposes.

There is no safety issue here like the animal abusers will try and claim - even the PRCA now bans prods in the chutes at some of their rodeos, showing the safety argument for what it has been all along: A LIE.

Please do not let this policy change happen without making your voice heard. If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, come to the hearing and telling the Board what you think of this backwards policy change. If you are unable to attend in person please, write the Board and respectfully tell them that they are making a grave mistake by turning back the clock and adopting a policy that even the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is backing away from.

Rodeos such as the Cheyenne Frontier Days, the Greeley Stampede, the Pikes Peak Rodeo, The PRCA's Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship in Dallas, TX, the River City Round-up in Omaha, NE are just some of the rodeos that are banning electrical prods.

The board also needs to know that SHARK's video cameras will certainly be rolling come rodeo time and the world will see exactly how HARD treats animals.

What You Can Do:

If possible, attend the meeting, your presence is needed. If not, then respectfully notify HARD and tell them what you think about them bringing back the electrical prod.

The hearing is set for Monday night, November 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Hayward Area Recreation & Park District located at 1099 "E" Street, Hayward, CA 94541.

Their telephone number is (510) 881-6700. E-mail Rita Shue - General Manager at: shur (AT) haywardrec (DOT) org

When you write, ask Ms. Shue to forward your email to all the Board members.